Eclipse
by qwertykid
Summary: The brightest light will always cast the darkest shadow. Join Bayonetta, Cereza and Luka through a retelling of the events of Bayonetta as they seek to uncover the prophecy behind the two Eyes of the World and the secrets behind their new ally. Contains OC, new lore and a whole lot of Bayonetta goodness.
1. Prologue

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some quick things to note about this story:_

 _\- This is somewhat a crossover fic, and it will become rather obvious what it is when the OC is introduced._

 _\- Bayonetta is a little OOC for this story, and some previous story elements and plot points are changed to reflect this._

 _\- This also takes into account the events of Bayonetta 2 and Bayonetta: Bloody Fate. Some elements of the OG story is also changed to reflect this._

 _\- Rated M for language, violence and themes._

 _\- I don't own anything from Bayonetta, only Platinum Games do. A big cheer for them for their awesomeness!_

 _Without further ado; Here is Eclipse!_

 _One year before present._

 _..._

" _Father Balder!_ " An Applaud was running at him, it's gait showing signs of injury and panic. Looking up from the contracts and other various documents that the mortals required him to read, lest his business cover would be blown, the Lumen Sage Balder fixed an annoyed look back at the approaching angel.

"What is it? Why dare disturb me?" He turned back to continue reading, listening to it screech to a halt on the polished floors. His mouth curled distastefully at the sound. That would cost time to repair, and he was finished with wasting time.

" _Experiment 10978 has escaped captivity and is rampaging through the laboratories!_ " The Applaud sounded terrified, and that intrigued Balder. Not much could terrify a being of Paradiso, outside of an Umbra Witch or an Infernal Demon. But his focus was not on how the angel was speaking, but what it had said.

"It did what?!" Balder paused as he felt a tremor ripple through the Ithavoll Building. "Recapture him at all costs!"

" _Sir, our defences were obliterated._ " The angel shook his head. " _The only things that might be powerful enough to stop it are yourself or one of the Cardinal Virtues. It has probably escaped by now, if our estimates are correct._ "

Another tremor rang through the building as Balder felt an unfamiliar feeling grow within him. His work of twenty years was expendable, as had the previous experiments, but it did not sit well with him to let it go to waste. Especially given this one's potential to be far more successful than anything else he had tried.

"Take me to it." He snarled angrily, raising from his desk. "Take me to the laboratories now!"

…

It was a surprise the building was left intact. Maybe his creation had enough of a conscience to realise toppling Ithavoll into a densely populated city was not the best idea. Or it was not advanced enough to realise it could destroy the building if it had wished. No one was sure what the experiments had done to its intelligence. But then again, how was it supposed to know it was in a city, let alone a building?

Nevertheless, its hidden power was now evident. It was a lot stronger that the data showed. Or what the data even suggested.

Balder let his rage simmer as he gazed upon the ruin that was the laboratories. Angelic carcasses littered the ground amongst shattered electronics, tubing and chemicals. The main cell in the centre was completely gone, as if it were disintegrated into dust. Balder reflected that the Applaud was right; the bodies seemed to be torn in pieces or their limbs shattered into unnatural angles. The work of a savage, primal fear to flee. An observation not exactly helpful in determining any new data, but it did tell him that it at least had the sense to run from the place that was causing it pain, at any means necessary.

He watched as several Applauds began to search the ruins for anything that was salvageable. Satisfied with their methodology, he turned and walked outside to determine if the exterior was compromised. From what he could see, very little. It had simply blown a hole through the side of the building and made a break for it. The authorities of the mortal realm were setting up a protective barrier for the populace, and he sighed to himself as he realised that he didn't particularly want to address them. Mentally noting to get Jeanne to play around with any witness's memories, he turned back to walk into the building.

" _It seems your little experiment did not pay off, even when it had potential, Lumen Sage._ " A booming voice called from behind. Balder felt his rage return anew as he stopped and turned back.

"Temperentia, the lord of the winds. What brings you here?" He greeted, both playing dumb and being careful not to let his rage show to the Cardinal Virtue.

" _Sapientia felt a sudden loss of life, as one does during a massacre._ " Temperentia was glaring at the Sage, the strange green hologram that was its image flickering in the wind. " _I was sent to investigate the matter, and possibly supply assistance, due to me knowing the full extent of your experiment. Now, explain yourself._ "

"It seems that the only explanation I can give you, as to how it managed to escape at all, was that it was harbouring abilities none of us knew about." Balder replied neutrally. "It could have brought down the building if it so desired, but it seems it chose not to or simply did not think he could."

" _Sapientia would have loved that._ " The angel boomed. " _Do you have any inkling as to its current whereabouts?_ "

Balder's immediate reaction was to lash out at the angel, but then stopped to think. Where would it have gone? Jeanne had wiped its memory; it was extremely unlikely that it would head to its relatives. But, that being said, the subconscious could never truly be wiped anew.

"Honestly, I would start by checking out its next of kin, or its relatives." Balder answered, confident and suave. "That is if the experiment is as stupid as most mortals tend to be."

" _Do you have any requests on my investigation?_ " Temperentia asked. " _I am quite curious to find out about your experiments capabilities in a non-testing environment_."

Balder finally let his unemotional shell crack. A small smile crept over his face as he began to formulate a plan to retrieve his experiment.

"If you find it there, take it back and bring it to me. Alive, preferably." Balder explained. "Then kill everyone related to it. Make it realise that such actions cannot go unpunished."

Temperentia squinted at Balder. " _And if it isn't there?_ "

Balder smiled fully. "Kill them all regardless. It will learn that actions will not go unpunished."

" _It will be done."_ The angel smiled back, a smile filled with lust and insanity. " _May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you._ "

"And you as well."

Balder continued to fake his smile until the Angel returned to Paradiso. "There will be one being in this universe that Jubileus will grace, and that honour will be mine."

He turned back to find the Applauds waiting for him. He looked upon them expectantly.

"Well? Did your search provide me with anything?"

Hesitantly, the Applauds each shook their heads in turn, as if to confirm each other.

Closing his eyes, Balder felt his rage regrow as he realised the severity of what had truly transpired.

"Go and get Jeanne. She will deal with this." He walked back into the Ithavoll building, his fist clenching tighter and tighter. "She will make them suffer!"

…

 _Six months before present._

 _..._

Balder closed his eyes with fury as the latest experiment gurgled and moaned with pain. He heard the muttering of the Affinities to the side of him, and it didn't sound promising. Opening his eyes, he watched with frustration as the mortal expanded, then tore itself apart as the cells refused to bind.

" _Another failure…_ " The Applaud said from behind. " _What now?_ "

Balder felt himself calm down as his mind began to accept that this method was not going to work. "I suppose it is due time to try plan C."

He turned back to face the elite denizen of Paradiso. "Get my secretary onto the black market, in any way you can. We need to reveal the location of this." He tapped his half mask, letting his eye glow blue slightly.

The Applaud tilted its head. " _You want to draw out the witch?_ "

Balder nodded, then smiled. "Indeed. Find me the books and scrolls of time." He ordered the Affinities standing around. "For I shall be requiring them soon."

" _What if she doesn't take the bait?_ " It asked, trying to reason the alternative. " _What then?_ "

"Then we will be forced to continue." He smiled a cruel smile. "Until two are made, or we find our missing experiment."

" _Your command is our_ _will."_ The group of angels bowed to him, and then disappeared back into a portal to Paradiso. Stepping out of Purgatorio, he stared in disgust at the quivering goop on the floor.

"You can still hear me, can't you?" He smirked as the quivering increased. "Let it be known that you were the final mortal to be blessed by me."

The quivering stopped as the mortal finally died. Gesturing and muttering softly under his breathe, he watched as the puddle of flesh dried up and turned to dust and blew away. Turning away, he felt something pull at him to turn back. Glancing behind, he saw a flicker of something in the shadows. Frowning, the Sage turned back and walked into the cell. Reaching into the corner, he pulled out a worn piece of paper. He read the words scrawled onto it, his eyebrows raising at every sentence.

 _I will be free. I will be free. I will be free. I will be..._ The sentence repeated itself, as if a madman had written it.

Smirking, he crushed it into a small ball and set it alight. Tossing the ashes to the ground, he stood up and walked out of the cell, telekinetically closing the door behind him.

He continued out of the laboratory, hearing the pleas of the mortals as they reached out of their respective cells, begging for release. Balder ignored them. The return of Jubileus was at stake, and mere mortals would not stop it from happening.

The time would come for Jubileus to return.

The time will come. He was certain of it. His will would make it come.

The shadow that always remained cast would be no more, and only light would remain. It was his desire, and it would be so.

"Well, it seems your plans have changed." A feminine voice called to him, interrupting his thoughts. Looking ahead, he saw a tall, elegantly dressed woman in red ahead of him, half of her face obscured by a hat of the same shade.

"Our plans have changed." He chided, and she stiffened in response. "We have been working together for one hundred years; allow yourself the same level of respect, Mademoiselle."

"As you wish, Father." She nodded. "The experiment is gone, and now you turn to her."

"She will know her fate soon enough." Balder nodded back, gesturing for her to join him. "And when she does, the power that has been hidden away for five hundred years, the power that should've been yours to wield, will be reawakened."

"And you will hold up your end of the bargain?" The woman walked alongside him, her graceful steps allowing her to easily stay on his pace alongside him.

"You know that I will, Jeanne." He answered, a smirk on his features.

A mirroring smirk appeared on Jeanne's as well. "I know all too well. Is it time to get the girl?"

"My daughter was once my greatest burden." His right eye turned blue for the smallest of seconds. "It is now time she was made useful."


	2. Chapter 1: An Unfamiliar Face

_AUTHORS NOTE: I don't own any part of the Bayonetta franchise. Platinum Games do_

"Well, we are here, Nun-lady." Her escort announced, wheezing. "The second half of the graveyard."

Her thoughts were elsewhere, and not on the task that lay ahead.

Being a witch certainly wasn't easy.

Sure, it had some great benefits, like looking ageless, being functionally immortal, the nearly limitless power and the ability to summon infernal demons like a mortal would summon blood for those particular areas of procreation.

The downside was that said demons were always looking for a single moment of lapsed concentration to drag your soul back down to Inferno, mortal weapons couldn't handle your power, the sex was mostly horrible and pointless, and no one could bloody see the kick-ass manoeuvres that you were dishing out to angels to sate your various demon's eternal thirst. Such a thing was only ever slated for an audience of one, and that audience member had seen much more artistic performances elsewhere.

Bayonetta, however, simply didn't give enough of a fuck to care about the downsides. The power she had obtained from being a witch was enough to sate her desires and her freedoms. Only if she truly knew how she had got these powers in the first place…

But that was neither here or there. Currently she was grave robbing for a corpse. A special, unique corpse. Well, it wasn't a corpse, as the person wasn't really dead, but then again, what do you call someone who sleeps in a graveyard?

Her white outfit, a typical nun's outfit she had borrowed from the church she worked at, was covered in dirt and sweat, and her round glasses irritated her nose. She really wanted to find this corpse fast, and not a minute over schedule. Not for what she wanted the corpse for, but just to simply go back to her hotel room and have a long, warm bath. Her eyes closed slightly as she imagined the soothing waters, then opened as she returned her concentration back to the task ahead of her.

"Ya know, some of these fuckers must be some famous fucks somewhere." A short, fat and seedy-looking man began from behind her. "I mean, we've already dug up poor Robotnik. There's gotta be someone else here that's like him."

She decided to finally start ignoring him as she tried to find the correct grave and/or casket. One half of the graveyard was already sifted through, and the second half lay looming ahead of them. She already had a suspicion that it was the one that was put out into the open. But that was obviously a trap, and as a former accomplice had once said; ' _It never did not pay to be careful'._

"I mean, Robotnik was old, crazy and got beaten up by some fuckin' small blue mammal over some fancy pieces of jewellery. I mean, they are pretty to look at, but they ain't got shit on diamonds, believe me." The man was, in fact, talking again. "And I know my diamonds, grave robbed a few of them in my life time, believe me."

The man walked up beside her. "And who are we looking for anyway? And what is a nun like you trying to grave rob these fuckers? I thought you all were above earthly possessions and all that shit."

"I'm looking for Rodin." She answered neutrally, ignoring most of the questions. Her disguise was working like a charm. He quite obviously didn't recognise her from the nunnery she worked at, or the countless deals she had done with him as her normal, charming self.

"The black, bald and buff motherfucker?" The man raised his eyebrows, and shades, at that. "He died like last week. I was at the funeral today as well. He was a shady one, I tell ya, he always wanted me to do hands on stuff! Fuhgeddaboudit, old Enzo here never does anything with his hands if he can help it!"

Bayonetta stared coolly at Enzo as the former finished his rant. The man at least had the grace, or the sense, to be embarrassed.

"He is in that one there." He pointed to the coffin currently sitting out in the open. Bayonetta cursed at the lost time and made her way over to it. Pulling out a bible, she turned to a random page and began to whisper incantations under her breathe.

"Praying for the fucker? Man, the guy doesn't deserve any prayers in my opinion. But that's my take on it. You do you, Ms Nun."

Enzo finally fell silent as he realised that Bayonetta was pointedly ignoring him. He muttered something under his breathe, then turned around to relieve himself on a tombstone.

…

Enzo returned to reality a couple of minutes later as he leaned over her shoulder to try to read with her.

"Hey! What are you even doing?" He recognised the passage that the Nun was reading. "I'm no religious man, believe me, but that chapter is the one where God destroys humanity for the first time. Ain't a prayer for the dead, if you ask me."

The Nun smiled. "Just a little party trick."

And with that the lid of the coffin burst off and the man contained within seemed to float out, like an angel. He was bald, dark-skinned and muscular, just like Enzo remembered. The brown coat, black pants and dark sunglasses adorned him, just like they had in life.

"R-R-Rodin?!" He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground in shock. Rodin was dead! He had seen his corpse this morning! What the fu-

"Hey! Ms Nun! Where did you go!?" He couldn't find the reason he had been hired in the first place. The graveyard seemed brighter, as if some force was illuminating it.

"Hey Enzo; long time, no see." Rodin smiled cruelly. "And as for Bayonetta, she's doing some housework before the real party begins."

"Bayonetta?" Enzo's face went pale. "She's here?"

Climbing back to his feet in a rush, he turned and sprinted out of the graveyard, heading back to the carpark.

"She's gonna destroy the motherfuckin' car again!" He screamed. "I just got it paid off as well..."

Rodin grinned at the panicking and retreating mortal, and then tossed some guns at a seemingly random spot in the graveyard. A small, purple coloured portal opened, and the four weapons disappeared.

"I hope you have practiced your part." He smiled as he clicked his thumb, setting it and the cigar above it alight. "Because this is going to be a long show."

…

It had been such a long time since Bayonetta had felt such ecstasy, such feeling, such pleasure…

Her body writhed and turned, following movements she herself found utterly natural despite not knowing how she had learnt them. Her Nun disguise lay on the ground in tatters, and her hair covered her modesty, weaving itself around her into a black, skin-tight uniform. It covered her body, except for most of her upper back and her chest, showing a small window of cleavage. The white gloves from her nun outfit remained on her arms, and two sleeves extended from her elbows, flapping in the air as she moved. Her hair was done up, beehive style, held together by two long, red ribbons, giving her a look that screamed sex and sleekness. Utilising techniques she didn't remember learning, she fought against her opponents with lethality.

None stood a chance of course.

"Didn't your bosses learn from last time?" She asked a random angel, who paused in surprise in realising she was talking to it. "If you want to play with me properly, you need to send the right toys so I can play without breaking you."

Throwing her broken gun through its head, killing it, she sneered in disgust. "And it looks like I need the right toys as well."

Pulling herself out of Purgatorio briefly, she found Rodin punching any angels that came close to him, his cigar held aloft.

"More guns!" She demanded, and he obliged, tossing her four black and white handguns. Letting them pass into Purgatorio, she felt how different they were to the last pair almost instantaneously. They were somehow worse.

"Eww, Rodin should be paying me to use these." She reflected to herself as she punched through another angel, shattering the gun instantly. "These toys wouldn't satisfy anything."

"Hey, if you don't have the materials…" Rodin slammed another angel into the ground, causing Enzo to fall over again. "You have to make do with mortal weapons."

"These mortal toys are so baaaad." She whined, shattering the other on the weapon of another angel. "Guns!"

No more were tossed to her. Shoving an angel that was too close for her comfort away, she turned with a baleful eye to Rodin. "Rodin…"

He smiled and shrugged. "You broke em all. Sorry."

Rolling her eyes, she turned on her heel. "Looks like I have to this the old-fashioned way. TELOC VOVIM!"

She began to move sensually, letting her Umbran power flow through her. The closer angels realised what she was doing and began to back off, whereas the further ones thought this was an opportunity to strike and began to close in, causing the two opposing angelic lines to crash into each other, lumping themselves into a perfect group. Bayonetta braced herself as her hair left her body and spiralled upwards into a small portal. A massive portal opened behind the angels, and a massive, demonic centipede made of her hair came crawling out ferociously into the pack of angels. Its maw opened wide and lunged through.

Within seconds, they were all dead. After the summoned Infernal was sent back to Inferno, Bayonetta turned to the sound of clapping.

"Looks like you still got the moves." Rodin turned, his features betraying the small smile from the rush of battle. "But you owe me some for faking the funeral, smuggling in the weapons and my newest baby. Treat it well."

He gave her a small black bracelet containing an orange jewel, something he had named the Bracelet of Time. Rodin had sold its abilities on her, as it had the power to focus her temporal abilities inherent to an Umbran to slow time on command, and she requested he bring it to her. After months of him creating it, they decided that he would make the trade in the mortal realm, using Bayonetta as a lure to summon angels for the halos Rodin so desperately desired. She didn't know why, she didn't care why; all she cared about was whether she got the damn thing or not.

"Take all the halos from here and me." She turned around, trying to find Enzo. "I really don't have any use for them."

Rodin shrugged, and held his hand out. The nearby golden rings began to float towards him, and he shuddered as they passed into him.

"Never can get used to that." He reflected to himself. Returning his attention to the witch, he spoke neutrally. "You might want to head somewhere else, just in case Paradiso does decide to send something big at you."

Bayonetta turned and pouted. "You're going to stop me from playing with them?"

Rodin laughed. "Only if you have a death wish. I'll be in the Gates of Hell if you need me."

And with that, he disappeared into the ground as red fire marked his exit. Bayonetta thought about rejecting his advice to leave, but as she continued on that train of thought, she realised both the merits and demerits of the situation, and that the demerits did outweigh the merits.

"Oh bother." She said to herself as she stepped back into the mortal realm. "Looks like I need a driver."

She found Enzo back at the car they had both arrived in.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…" She heard him repeating to himself, and she almost giggled when she saw the almost-wreck his car was.

…

Bayonetta reflected to herself as she tuned out Enzo's ramblings for probably the 6th time that day, as the pair drove through the city of San Andreas. She had been awakened by some force about twenty years ago, from a casket at the bottom of a lake just outside of a town inside of the country called Vigrid. Almost immediately after she had seen a mortal man torn to pieces in front of her, and then her first encounter with angels.

She didn't know what did cause the man's death, but she had a sinking feeling she had caused it either directly or as a by-product of her waking up. She had no memories, only instincts and what she could only describe as natural to her. The only thing with her was a strange red stone encased in an ancient watch and a tube of ancient lipstick bearing the names Balder and Rosa. After retreating and finally escaping the angel's wrath, she discovered her abilities one by one: being able to switch between two dimensions at will, almost limitless strength, her ability to summon demonic hair constructs and the ability to slow time down.

Years of research had led her to believe she was an Umbra witch, and a former member of said ancient clan of witches in Europe thousands of years ago. Apparently, they had all died out in a global witch hunt event five hundred years ago bought on by the mistrust of mortals of the various Umbran arts and the fact many were now accepting the word of God.

Well, all of them were dead with the obvious exception of her. How she survived, she did not know. Nor did she care all that much, if she was being honest.

Nothing survived of their teachings, history or anything; the only records left was the mythos surrounding them, and the legends that passed down each generation as fairy tales or stories. Suitably miffed, she decided to choose a name for herself, one that both combined European and the few existing Umbran names she did know; Bayonetta. A name derived from the word Bayonet; a fixture attached to the barrel of a gun. Rodin had agreed with it instantly, claiming it suited her perfectly. She couldn't agree less.

The last sole survivor, with amnesia. What a cliché that was.

"… I mean, its obvious yer no fucking Nun. So, what the fuck was all that back there?" She broke out of her thoughts to hear Enzo ask his first question. "You're a thief and espionage expert, not a goddamn holy figure that can disappear at will!"

"Ok, little Enzo, it's about time you learned the rules about me." She turned to him. "Rule number one: I don't kiss and tell. Rule number two: I ask and pay you, not the other way around. Rule number three…" She petered off as she felt something off in the air.

"Rule number three? The fact you can't remember the fucking thing means you probably- OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

A plane, or more specifically a mortal Boeing 747, was hurtling towards the pair. Smiling to herself, Bayonetta realised she was going to get to play some more before the day was up. Standing up in the convertible, she quickly released a time stop spell to slow down the plane to almost a complete halt, along with everything in the immediate area. Stepping to the outside, she grabbed the car and threw it. along with poor Enzo, well above the path of the plane, to ride after she was finished with this problem.

Jumping onto the plane, she saw her suspicions were correct; it was crawling with angels.

"Hello boys." She greeted with a smile. "Why don't you play with someone your own size? This toy is far too large for any of you to use, so you might as well have a go with me, hm?"

They responded with a hiss and screamed back at her, an obvious challenge. Bayonetta readied her magic and began to think about her infernal summons, and then paused as an unfamiliar, yet familiar feeling washed through her.

Luckily for her, whatever she had sensed the angels had sensed too. They growled to her left as someone landed beside her.

"Just like old times." A voice said to the right of her. "Although, it seems you've changed, Cereza; you seem far more confident about yourself now. Shall we dance then?"

Being very careful to not let her surprise show, Bayonetta turned to face the newcomer.

She was dressed in red, a tight-fitting top with loose-ish pants. Strange guns adorned her heels, like Bayonetta did when she had some, and a pair was enclosed in her hands. Her blonde-silver hair enclosed her head in a small pixie cut, and a warm, welcoming smile adorned her face.

This person knew her, and she was probably an Umbran witch, judging from the similarities. And the fact she was moving during witchtime.

"I'm sorry, just who are you?" Bayonetta shot back, her eyes narrowing. "I don't remember ever making your acquaintance, and I would never forget a face like yours."

That question and statement hit the newcomer like a tonne of bricks. The smile disappeared from her face, confusion replaced it and anger finalized on it. Making an annoyed grunt, she turned away and launched herself at the angels. She fought with ferocity and anger, and Bayonetta realised that it was eerily like hers, just a lot less flourish-filled. Observing her for a moment, she followed suite and joined the fray.

They made short work of the angels together. None stood a chance to Bayonetta, and the newcomer was just diminishing returns. They stood, staring at each other, neither sure on how to act. The woman in red seemed to be studying her, and Bayonetta in turn was unsure on how to approach the elephant in the room.

She was the first to break the silence, turning to the plane beneath her with a frown. "We aren't moving."

"Of course we aren't; I cast a time spell-" Bayonetta realised that it had worn off a few minutes before. The plane was floating in real time, and she could see the confused faces of the mortals outside of Purgatorio both staring at the plane in fear, astonishment and reverence. "This is new... Are you doing this?"

The plane began to lower with both women on it. Turning to face the road that didn't get destroyed, both were surprised to see a figure with one arm stretched out. It was wearing what looked like rags, and they covered its entire body from view. A strange lump was affixed to its back, making it appear extremely top-heavy. From the power she could sense expelling from the figure, Bayonetta figured that this was who was lowering the plane. The woman to the left of her hissed, as if she recognised the person, and prepared to launch herself at them. Unfortunately for her, the figure had accomplished their task.

As it hit the ground with a dampened crash, the figure lowered its arm and sagged slightly. The impact staggered the pair of witches, but both recovered gracefully. Bayonetta could feel the figures eyes scrutinizing both her and the other woman, and she felt a strong urge to turn away in shame. But as soon as it appeared, it left. The figure turned away and ran, running faster than most mortals and on a pace that Bayonetta would have slight trouble maintaining.

"Is that an old friend of yours?" Bayonetta turned, but no one was there. Shrugging, she leaped off the plane, grabbed the car and the screaming Enzo and tossed them back down onto the road, ready to continue her journey.

…

The day's events stuck with Bayonetta long into the night. After reconnecting with Enzo, and enduring yet another rant, she had discovered that he knew of some auction in the black market for a stone that glowed blue, something awfully like the one contained within her watch. It was traced back to the Ithavoll IT company, the main power in Vigrid and the place of worship for all things Angelic. So, she was going back to Vigrid tomorrow, to find out about this rock and, if all things went well, it could connect her to her past. Her thoughts, however, remained on the woman in red.

She knew her, and it annoyed Bayonetta to no end that she had inadvertently pissed her off and pushed her away. By her opening words, she deduced that they must have been close, perhaps closer than most friends. She was very interested in meeting her again; perhaps she could provide a clue for her identity, but her reaction to her amnesia did not bode well for her to be reasonable. Pushing her sheets to the side, she sat up and turned to sit on the side of the bed. The chilly air helped her body relax, and she let the moonlight gleam off it. Even though it was bright and made it difficult to fall asleep, the moon had always soothed her.

The life of a witch was tiring, and sometimes mortal pleasures did help her relax. The companion she had chosen was satisfying to her primal desires , but as like all the mortals, never really fulfilled her.

Then her head swam as images fought their way to the forefront of her mind. New, unfamiliar ones:

 _An arena surrounded by cells, as her and the women in red fought to the death…_

 _A falling clocktower, the woman in red standing by her side as they endlessly fought angels…_

 _A torso shaped figure breaking down a citadel's walls, a four-legged monstrosity launching missiles after it, mortals rushing in after, pitchforks and torches blazing…_

 _A voice crying in anger as she felt her body turn numb as she cradled a body in her arms…_

 _A sharp pain in her chest as something punctured her chest…_

With a gasp, she snapped back to reality. Shaking her head of her thoughts, she tried to understand the significance of what she had seen. Memories? It was very possible.

"Babe? You alright?" The male prostitute behind her asked sleepily. Bayonetta straightened herself, cleared her exterior of anything weak or negative, and turned and smiled.

"I'm alright, my dear. It was nothing."

"Are you sure?" The man pulled himself up. "It looks like you have something on your mind."

"I'm paying you for physical pleasure, not therapy." She pushed him back down, her augmented strength beating out his resistance easily. "Now, shut up and hold me."

Falling back into the bed and into the arms of the stranger, she wondered what tomorrow would bring. But for now, she was content with the present. And certainly not worried about the past.

…

The figure in rags stopped to rest. Breathing heavily, they looked being them, trying to see if she was chasing him. Seeing nothing, he collapsed onto the wall, satisfied with his escape for now.

So far, so good.

He didn't know what he was thinking, revealing himself so obviously like that. And to her, nevertheless. He had been passing through, running from the angels as he always had been, and then he had seen the angel infested plane flying directly towards the city, ready to kill hundreds of thousands of people. His conscience had pulled him to act to save them all, and so he had, utilising what power he knew he possessed.

It was a stupid risk, and he knew it. She had killed the angels, along with some other unknown person, well before he could even grab the plane telekinetically. Still deciding to go through with it, he knew she had recognised him almost immediately, and he nearly dropped the plane then and there and ran.

Continuing through the port, he began to sway and stumble. Holding an arm to the wall, he reflected that he had been on the run for almost a year now, with no real breaks in the chase. He knew he couldn't last much longer. Dragging himself along, he saw an electronic sign tell him where he needed to go.

Stowing himself onto a ship that was heading back to Vigrid, he figured that the angels wouldn't be smart enough to think he would entertain going back to the country that started his personal hell. He figured that she would be smart enough to figure it out, and he expected the Father to. He was not going to underestimate them.

Finding a corner amongst the shipping containers, he sat with his back to it, allowing him to view the open space in front of him easily. Pain flared up in his extra limb as it leaned against the wall, but he blanked it out by casting a small healing spell onto it, and gritting his teeth and willing himself to not feel it.

He then felt another spasm of pain wrack his body, and he shivered in response. The dull ache that was his limbs weighed them down, and he knew he wasn't much longer for this world.

 _Dying here was better than the living hellhole that was Ithavoll_ , he reasoned to himself. _And I get to put a hole in whatever the Father was planning._

Closing his eyes, he looked forward the small amount of sleep he would get on the trip, before they found him again and he would be forced to defend himself.

He was intent on surviving in his freedom for as long as humanely possible. That was all he wanted right now; to live.

 _Must be doing a real good job of it then…_ Were his final thoughts as he drifted off into sleep.


	3. Chapter 2: A Familiar Place

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything from Bayonetta or Final Fantasy 7. Platinum Games and Square Enix do (That's-a spoiler)_

Vigrid never changes.

Bayonetta reflected on the town's unofficial motto as she walked through its streets. Sure, technological advancements were in place, like trams, electricity, cars, the train that brought her here and the like, but it was just like it was as she had visited and fled from it twenty years ago in her quest to find her identity. If the reports she had also read were correct, the town was also exactly identical as it was 500 years ago when the Umbran Clan was the main seat of power. The town hall was made of the same stone, the shops were the exact chains as they were 500 years ago, the housing district was identical right down to the family living in its walls.

 _It's probably why they don't take too kindly to strangers._ She thought to herself as she admired a piece of jewellery in a store window whilst the clerk inside glared angrily at her. _It's too difficult for them to adapt to change._

"This stone clashes with my eyes." She finally said aloud, fully knowing and making sure the clerk could hear her. Tilting her head, she continued. "Looks like you lost a customer."

The glare's ferocity doubled, and Bayonetta merely smiled back as she turned and began to explore the city more. What she really needed was transport, and she hadn't had a clue as to where to find it. Isla Del Sol and the Ithavoll company were much further inland, and her small amount of research had told her there was pretty much zero routes to those without guaranteed transport there and back. There was a walking track that lead through the Umbra Mountains and to airport outside of Vigrid, but that was five full days of solid walking, and she really did not feel like doing that.

She got the funny feeling that maybe, perhaps the smallest maybe, that the people of Vigrid didn't want to have tourists exploring the country. Or even beyond the city itself. No wonder their tourist revenue was one of the lowest in the world.

A small disturbance got her attention. A chair randomly fell over, falling perpendicular to her. Frowning slightly, she followed its's direction, trying to confirm her suspicion. As she expected, another chair fell over in the same direction, and then someone got pushed to the side further up. It could not be a coincidence, as there was no wind. The familiar aura of Paradiso washed over her, and the presence of angels filled her senses. A potted plant was then hurled down the street, breaking apart in mid-air. The Vigridians gasped at the seemingly divine occurrence, whereas Bayonetta's eyes narrowed.

Something was happening in Purgatorio. Glancing at a window, she saw the trace of an Affinity hurtling down the street. Rolling her eyes in mock disappointment, she folded her arms.

"And to think I wasn't invited…" Bayonetta pouted slightly, then stepped into Purgatorio. She was unaware of the mortal's eyes that followed her in, and the click of a camera.

Immediately she was knocked to the side by an Affinity that was storming past her. Gracefully recovering, she frowned and saw as a pack of the angels chasing after something or someone. Being careful not to attract their attention, she followed behind, climbing to the rooftops to pursue from above. A small red glow briefly caught her attention, but she ignored it and filed it away for her memory later.

The figure in rags was running into an alleyway, one with a dead-end too. She noted that it appeared exhausted, as if it had been running for a long time. The Affinities, however, looked fresh and ready to kill.

It was undoubtedly, completely and utterly fucked. Unless she wanted to play hero, which she was unsure of. She had other objectives that required her attention, but her conscience was eating at her. And it would be a good sacrifice for the demons and some halos for bargaining with Rodin later…

"Oh, fuck it…" She whispered to herself, then launched herself off the roof and landed behind the angels.

"Hello boys! Why don't you play with me instead?" Bayonetta taunted as she stood up. "That toy looks rather exhausted, and I'm sure you want something new, something fresh, to play with…"

The Affinities, to her relief, turned and faced her. One of them stepped forward, and began to speak in the angelic language of Enochian:

" _Our business doesn't involve you. Allow us to reprehend the Father's experiment, and we will let you live._ "

She laughed at the absurdity of the claim. "Darling, angels are always my business…"

And with that she launched herself at them. The fight was short, ugly and brutal. Weaponless, Bayonetta was forced to use her fists and feet, breaking bones and ripping flesh to kill the angels as fast as possible. She might have enjoyed the flow and rush of lethal combat, but she didn't find it nearly as appealing when her opponents suffered. The true art of battle was not to take time, but to maximise efficiency with as many flourishes as she could throw out.

Within minutes, she was the last left standing. Quickly surveying around to make sure nothing else was there to interrupt her, she turned to face the figure to check on them.

She didn't expect a fist to meet her.

Reeling back from the blow, she felt another slam into her stomach, driving the air from her. Gasping in pain, she saw another fist fly towards her in an uppercut. Grabbing it before it could connect, she pulled the figure over in a judo-style throw to the ground using the momentum of the punch, and then pinned them down by straddling them.

"What the fuck was that for?!" She exclaimed. "I was rescuing you, fucking idiot."

"You're Jeanne!" An undoubtably male voice rasped back at her. "You're the one who helped him!"

Bayonetta was confused. This one recognised her as well? And had another name for her? His next words surprised her even more but refuted her theory.

"You're the one that made me this freak!"

Recovering quickly, she smiled. "Darling, if I had made you anything, I would have made you a freak in other, much more fun, ways."

The man snarled, then coughed in pain. "You did this to me! Don't deny it!"

"I did nothing. I don't even recognise this fabric." She grabbed the hood and pulled it down, revealing a sickly, thin face crowned with blonde hair and golden eyes that burned holes into her. "And I certainly don't recognise you."

"You're all the same to me." He hissed. "Your face might've changed, but your power is the same!"

Ah, that cleared things up. "There's more than one Umbra witch, darling. You've seen us both, maybe you should try to find her. Better luck next time!"

He continued to stare with unabated anger at her, and she continued to smirk at him. "You know, this is the second time I've been in this position in less than twenty-four hours. A new record, if you are keeping score."

"You kidnapped me twenty years ago, wiped my memory and changed me for the worse." He accused, ignoring her attempt to lighten the situation. "And now you've found me to bring me back to him."

"Darling, I only woke up from a long sleep twenty years ago." She replied to him. "I would have no time to kidnap anyone. And besides, did I not just slaughter a bunch of angels that were going to bring you back to this... father, person?"

A loud screech interrupted the pair. An Applaud, flank by numerous Affinities, had found the alley and the two. Gracefully climbing to her feet, Bayonetta faced the newcomers.

" _Give us the experiment or burn, witch._ " The Applaud gestured towards the figure behind her that was struggling to climb to his knees. " _The Father wishes for it to be returned._ "

"Well, I have to say that sounds like a tempting deal." She pretended to ponder for a second. "But I think killing you all and sending you to Inferno sounds like a much better one, don't you agree?"

"We will have unfinished business, witch." The man said behind her. The angels wasted no time and immediately launched onto the offensive. Dodging past the strikes of the pole-arm the Applaud carried, she slowed down time briefly and launched a barrage of punches into its abdomen, launching it into the alley's wall when time resumed. Throwing out kicks, she began to battle her way through the Affinities, feathers and angelic gore filling the air. Watching the man from the corner of her eye, she saw how uncoordinated, how graceless his style was. What made up for it, however, was the explosions of blood as each hit he landed tore through them.

Something brushed into her mind, and she jolted. Slamming one Affinity into another, she noticed his eyes glowing slightly, and she ascertained that he had somewhat read her mind, or at least the briefest parts of it. Ignoring him, and his attempt, she refocused on the dance of battle.

As she cleaned up the last of the Affinities, she turned and watched as he clumsily fought against the Applaud, trying to tear it apart instead of whittling it down with his strength. Luckily for him, the Applaud didn't expose his weakness and stayed on the defensive. Eventually he broke through and ripped the angel in two, separating the torso from the hips.

"You know, you could probably learn a thing or two about finesse." She said, crossing her arms and leaning against a pole as he breathed raggedly and heavily, leaning over in exhaustion. "Your style is completely lacking in anything."

"It gets the job done…" He panted. He turned and looked at her. "I was mistaken; you aren't her."

"Of course, I'm me." Bayonetta shook her head in annoyance. "I'm guessing your little trip into my mind had something to do with that?"

He nodded. "Yeah, something like that." He began to sway. "For what it's worth now, I'm sorry for attacking you, and I'm deeply grateful for you saving me."

"Are you alright?" She asked, tensing slightly, ignoring his apology for the moment. "You look awfully horrible."

He didn't answer. Instead, he collapsed and fell to the ground. Catching him before he broke his own face, she carried him, half running and half sprinting, to the Gates of Hell entrance she had seen earlier.

 _You better be worth this wasted time_. She silently cursed her conscience. _Stupid do-gooder conscience. Can't you tell me not to save damsels in distress?_

…

"To be completely honest, I'm kind of surprised he is still alive." Rodin looked up from the screen of the hospital wing of the Gates (as ever a successful businessman, he decided to try and monopolise everything he could). "There's so much shit in him that have no business being in a mortal body, and not enough shit that should be."

Bayonetta peered at the screen and tried to make sense of it. "The only thing I'm interested in is whether he will live."

The man lay naked on a surgery table, tubes of all sorts attached to him. Upon arriving at the Gates, Rodin had seen him, and then immediately carried the poor kid to the hospital wing. After tearing off the rags that covered him, both were sickened, but slightly curious when they saw a frail, sickly body that was covered in scar tissue. There was a single black wing fixed to his back, seemingly deliberately hidden amongst the rags, explaining the lump, and evidence that someone had torn off a second one.

"Oh, he'll live. I'm the best doctor there ever will be." Rodin smiled cockily. "The real question is what the fuck happened to him."

"All he told me was that he was an experiment from twenty years ago." She replied. "What have you found?"

"Well, this poor kid has been injected with so much shit; I've found evidence of Umbra blood and cells, Lumen Sage blood and cells, angel and demon blood and souls." The smile disappeared from his face. "The cells keep trying to obliterate each other, the souls are in constant battle and adding on top of that the fatigue and undernourishment, he is probably in constant pain from simply living."

Bayonetta stared with somewhat newfound respect at the unconscious man. "The cells are incompatible, you mean?"

"Yeah. Angels and demons are understandable, but Lumen Sage and Umbra Witches are surprisingly incompatible, even though both are the same species. It's probably got to do with the light and dark powers. I haven't researched the technicalities; I don't do unethical stuff to mortals." He explained, looking intensely at the screen before turning to her.

"Biology-wise. Money and transactions come with the territory, and it's easy as fuck to do." He added before she could open her mouth to refute his claim. He refixed his sunglasses back to his head, hiding his blood-red eyes from the world again. "Apparently someone managed to get the cells to play nice."

He beckoned to Bayonetta, standing up from the screen. "Come. There's nothing more we can do for him until he recovers and wakes up. And I've made a weapon you might be interested in."

"They better not be like the last couple of toys you've tried to sell me on." She teased. Rodin's weapons were of the highest quality, but she had a penchant to breaking them easily.

"No, this one is something you'll enjoy. I made these babies personally."

"This new toy sounds promising. Also, since when were you a doctor?" She smiled as they walked back into the gates proper. "I've never really had the opportunity to ask."

"It's boring to just be a bartender and weapons supplier for millennia. Gotta change it up somewhere." He answered as he flipped over the sign to 'Do not Disturb'. "Have a good rest, kid. You're gonna need it."

…

 _Four days passed…_

…

 _He was in pain. He knew that much._

 _The Affinities outside were discussing his abilities, and the various one-of things they had seen him do; basic magic, basic healing, the ability to traverse into Purgatorio, his former ability to fly and his ability to read minds._

 _He almost smiled. They hadn't learnt about the one he was practising at the dead of night, where no one was watching._

 _His arms were aching again, and his back was flaring up. Grimacing, he turned his attention back to outside of the glass tube he was in._

 _He reached out, grabbing one of the monitors. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on lifting it. One inch. Two inches. One foot._

 _No one had noticed, of course. They wouldn't think that he was telekinetic._

 _He held it in position as he began to reach out for the rest of the objects in the room._

"What is this?" _One of the Applauds had finally noticed what was going on. "_ Experiment 10978, explain yourself!"

 _He smiled as he opened his eyes and threw everything randomly. Monitors and filing cabinets smashed into the Laguna, the scientists and other objects, including his cell. The glass imprisoning him shattered, and shards flew in all directions._

 _He relished this pain. This pain was what was going to get him to escape._

 _Vaguely aware of the klaxons and sirens in the background, he tore apart the tubing holding him in place and launched himself out, telekinetically grabbing everything and throwing it at the weakest part of the wall. Angels and items alike smashed into the wall, leaving a huge dent in it. Pain was wracking his body, but he was determined this time._

 _He would not fail due to himself. He was going to escape, and he would not fail a second time._

 _He gritted his teeth and grabbed everything again and repeated the throw. This time, the wall gave out and it exploded outwards in a symphony of flesh, concrete and metal, revealing the outside world to him for the first time in his life._

…

The man with no name woke up in an unfamiliar place, his eyes flickering open from his memories.

It was white, yet red, sterile yet dirty, peaceful yet chaotic. Groaning, he tried to recall why he was where he was.

He remembered running from angels as they found him again. He got cornered, then someone saved him, and it felt a lot like the witch that had torn his memory from him. After seeing her fight, and seeing her with his mind, he realised that it wasn't, and then it was all a giant blank. He had probably collapsed, that he was certain. Whether he was back in _his_ clutches was another story.

Groaning, he sat up. He saw that he now looked a lot healthier than normal, and that he was naked. Glancing around the room, he tried to find his clothes. A set of clothes did lie stacked on a small table on the other side, along with a note on top of it. Awkwardly and slowly, he walked over and read it:

 _This here is for you. Don't worry, it's on the house. Come to the bar when you're decent, and we'll talk._

 _R and B_

So, this R and B people were responsible for him, he guessed. Pulling on the clothes, he knew immediately that they were perfectly fitted to him and contoured around his wing instead of hiding it. Shamefully, he tried to stuff it behind the shirt, but it seems that the tailor had accounted for the possibility of him doing that. Or simply made them to fit exactly.

Fuck them, whoever they were. He did not need that reminder hanging over his shoulder.

Moving stiffly, he walked out of the room, trying to keep his wing as low and compressed as possible.

…

Bayonetta admired her new set of guns, named collectively as the Scarborough Fair. As Rodin had promised, these guns were weapons she could consider using for any other angelic skirmishes, and potentially greater enemies if they were to appear. They felt more alive than anything she had ever held, and she recognised the power they contained. When she asked Rodin what the secret was with them, he shrugged and mentioned that four individual demons were now missing from Inferno permanently. After testing their potency in a few skirmishes around the Vigrid entrance to the Gates, she could now say she had a proper weapon worthy of herself.

And she had never felt as complete as she did.

Rodin had convinced her to stick around until the man she had rescued had regain consciousness, so she could have a hand in his future. She had agreed, and the pair had spent the better part of several days discussing the events of the previous twenty years, the potential future of the man and how they would impact her plans.

He did charge her for all of it. Without dashing a sweat, she had handed over several thousand halos, with the promise of more to come.

"It looks like sleeping beauty has finally awakened." Rodin mentioned whilst he was cleaning a glass. Bayonetta turned and saw the man standing awkwardly at the entrance of the bar. He looked a hell of a lot healthier than before, and was wearing black pants, trousers, shirt and a long overcoat. His wing was tucked back and looked like it was attempted to be concealed behind him. The size of it, however, made it stand out and made him stand out. A couple of patrons fell silent at his appearance, and openly gaped at him.

"You know, it's a lazy fashion designer' choice to make all the clothing the same colour." She replied, watching with a small amount of sympathy as he awkwardly tried to find whoever he was looking for, looking around like a lost puppy.

"I don't make style my forte, unless it's requested." Rodin answered. "Practicality, that's where it works for me." He put down the glass and addressed the man with a shout. "Over here, stranger!"

Clearly embarrassed, he walked over to the pair and took the empty seat one away from the witch. Frowning slightly, she made no mention of it.

"I'm guessing you're this 'B' character?" The man asked. His voice had a soft, melodic quality to it, not dissimilar to a being of Paradiso, but laced with the same venom that the denizens of Inferno carried. It was certainly an upgrade to the scratchiness that it was when she met him, she figured. She decided it wasn't a bad voice to listen to; it certainly wasn't the worst thing on the planet she had heard.

"Rodin's the name." The bartender replied with a small chuckle. "What about you?"

The man hesitated, then shook his head. "I have no name. The best thing I know myself is by the number 10978."

Rodin shared a glance with her. "Why is that?"

"That was my experiment number they gave me." He replied in a simple tone. "That's all I have known myself as."

"Well, stranger, it has come to my attention that you probably need help living and being around in this fucked up world." Rodin said. "Bayonetta here has volunteered to take care of you for a small period."

Bayonetta felt it was her cue to interject. "I think you just need some training and you'll be set to leave into the wild."

The man shook his head. "I don't want to bring the wrath of heavens onto you as well. I would prefer if you didn't."

Rodin frowned. "Look kid, I know you're trying to act tough in front of the pretty lady-"

"She is an Umbra witch, just like that other one." The man smiled bitterly. "And I punched her in the face rather easily."

"That is tru- Wait, he punched you?" Rodin asked incredulously.

"He got lucky, that's all." Bayonetta defended. "I wasn't expecting to be punched by the person I risked life and limb to rescue." She placed a hand on her forehead in mock horror. "I can never be taken seriously again, right?"

"That's some ammo I got for later. Thanks kid." Rodin smiled, then turned serious again. "Look, the both of us are wanted by Paradiso for reasons other than having knowledge of you, so it honestly doesn't bother us that more angels will come."

"And I need to kill the fuckers anyway." Bayonetta continued. "It's a win-win situation for me, no matter what." She placed a hand onto his thigh and added sultrily: "And you get to travel and have some fun with me as a bonus."

To her expectations, he went bright red and turned away from her. "Ah, um, errrr…"

Rodin smiled at his stumbling. "I have heard that Bayonetta is very lively in bed and in combat, of which I've witnessed one; you can choose which. You'll be dumb to turn her down for either one."

"Only until the end of Vigrid." He answered after he regained his composure. "Then I leave. I don't want to be more trouble than I'm worth."

Rodin nodded at Bayonetta, who returned it. "Seems fair enough. You have your own business to attend to anyways."

The man then groaned slightly, and grabbed onto his stomach. Both bartender and witch leaned forward, ready to help if need to be.

"Jesus, kid." Rodin warned as he re-straightened himself up, seeing that it was just a minor flare. "You aren't ever going to be one hundred percent; so don't push yourself unless you need to."

"And what?" The man replied. "Be nothing more than a charity case?"

"You should know we aren't going to treat you as an invalid." She grabbed his shoulder gently and pulled him upright. "But if you are going to accelerate your little bouts of pain as fast as you can, then we are both going to take steps."

He nodded, pain still evident in his eyes. "It's hard to not accelerate everything when everything hurts."

"Are you sure you have nothing?" She turned to Rodin. "No lollipop or anything to help?"

"Look; this is all new territory for me; I've never seen a Lumen Umbra hybrid, or a demon angel one for that matter. God knows what is going to help him." He shrugged. "But I'll look into it as a favour – I don't want my patients dying on me."

The man smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"You can't just be referred as 'darling' or 'kid' all the time." Bayonetta said, changing the subject abruptly. "What name do you want?"

"How did you name yourself?" Rodin asked her.

"Combining languages and looking at a gun." She replied and turned to the man. "How about… Seraphim?"

"Seems too poignant." He shook his head. "What about Adraxon?"

"Too demonic. Lucas?"

"Too normal…"

The pair went at it for several minutes, throwing names that even Bayonetta had trouble pronouncing at each other, before the man straightened up. "Sephiroth."

Rodin and Bayonetta fell silent, their minds whirring over the suggested name.

"I like it." She said. "Combining Seraph of Paradiso..."

"... with Roth of Inferno." Rodin finished. "Real similar to that video game character from years back, but who's gonna remember that shit anyway?"

The man smiled. "Sephiroth is who I will be."


	4. Chapter 3: Vigrid, The City of Deja Vu

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't own anything from Bayonetta or Sephiroth name. They belong to someone else who is in fact not me._

 _\- If anyone is wondering, yes, Sephiroth is only Sephiroth in name and image only. Everything else is my own creation, I hope_

Exiting the portal, the Umbran Witch gestured to the man behind her. "Come, this way."

"Where exactly are we going?" Sephiroth asked, frowning at the direction she was walking. They had spent the last half hour in the Gates, Bayonetta restocking on various items and Sephiroth trying to learn more about himself, since he now had the opportunity to without constant interruptions from angels, and the people who took care of him. He had not got very far with either; he knew he was somewhat telekinetic, telepathic and had basic control over some elements, such as fire, ice and lightning, whereas Rodin and Bayonetta were unwilling to share any information about themselves that could have been helpful. So now they were in Purgatorio, trying to figure out the way through and out of Vigrid.

"To be honest? I'm not really sure." Bayonetta walked up to a town map. "There is supposed to be some transport out of here, and through the Umbran Mountains. I'm not seeing it, although."

"This map is not useful in that regard." He agreed with her as her frown deepened at the unhelpful object. "Maybe we could ask around?"

She laughed at his question. "Ohh, you are sooo naïve. You're going to be hard to tease."

Walking away, she left a dumbstruck Sephiroth behind. "But it's a legitimately good suggestion…"

"Mortals these days are very unwilling to part with knowledge to strangers. Twenty years ago, where I assume you are from, you would be very unlucky to find people who wouldn't be willing to part with anything. Nowadays, everybody kisses, but doesn't tell." She glanced back to him, then returned her gaze to the street. "We would be better off doing our own investigative work."

Shaking her head slightly, she wandered into a plaza followed closely by him. Mortals were milling about, doing their own business. Some were drinking coffee, others were resting and admiring the trees and architecture and others were playing in the square. She felt Sephiroth stand beside her, and she placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed them.

"You know, once you get past all the cranky puritans, this place isn't actually that bad." She said to herself, feeling a pang of jealously aimed at the mortal's flicker inside of her. This was something she would never get to experience, and probably never will; the ability to just sit back and relax for once. She could sense his sorrow and jealousy, probably for the same reasons as herself; but also his confusion, to her own.

"That one there is acting strange." Sephiroth pointed out one that was staring intently at a window.

"Everybody stares at a window every now and then." Bayonetta dismissed it, beginning to walk onwards. "Window shopping, perving on someone, planning a burglary…"

"There is nothing behind that window. Just an empty room." He frowned, staying put. "There is no reason for them to be looking there."

Bayonetta frowned as well and stopped. "That is most peculiar indeed. Let's go and see what they are up to then."

The pair walked up to the mortal and scrutinised them. It was an attractive male with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, a 5 o'clock shadow, brown eyes and a light frame. The face was handsome, and Bayonetta had to agree that it was an extremely good-looking face. It would've face she'd commit to memory and fuck later on in the night, but this was an inappropriate time to even think that, let alone do. There was many more important matters before sex. Like why this good-looking mortal was peering at a window like he had seen a ghost.

"Are there any special properties to windows?" Sephiroth asked, looking intently at the object in question. "Or to this window in particular?"

"There shouldn't be, they reflect everything, regardless…" Bayonetta realised what was going on. "He can see us. Bloody hell."

"Rosemary and daffodils. An odd combination, don't you think?" The man said aloud. "In the language of flowers, rosemary equates to remembrance, whilst daffodils signify loss. It's kind of ironic that those are the main scents in your perfume, Bayonetta."

Her companion gave her a questioning look. She ignored it and focused on the man. Why did he know her, but she didn't know him? That was really itching at her.

"I don't know what monster you are travelling with, but it certainly fits your soul." He continued, smirking slightly as Sephiroth looked away in shame. "Twisted and heartless, you murderer."

Her blood ran cold, but she didn't show it. She really wanted to kick this asshole's ass through the window, but her curiosity was beating her vengeance on this day. Instead, she opened a portal to the mortal realm and stepped through. Placing a hand on her hip, she answered him with as much confidence as she could muster. "So, who did I kill?"

"Ahhhh!" The man fell forwards in surprise and landed on his face. She smirked as he rushed ungracefully to turn around. His eyes widened as he saw her. "It's you! It's really you!"

"You know, you shouldn't be poking your nose into other people's business." She scolded. "They do say curiosity killed the cat, Cheshire. You should do your best to believe it."

"That's not my name!" He yelled, clearly offended.

"And, some people are very self-conscious. You might want to keep your mouth shut about their appearances." She shook her head. "You've been a very naughty boy, Cheshire."

"My name is Luka Redgrave, dammit." He snarled as he climbed to his feet and stared Bayonetta down. "Not Cheshire, or Garfield, or whatever you decide to come up with!"

She regarded him evenly. "You know, I've met a plethora of people who acted just like you; thinking that because of their cock, they get to be the rulers of the world and me." She gave him an evil smile. "And those people aren't around anymore, for reasons most definitely unrelated to me. So, I'll ask once more, Cheshire, who did I kill?"

"It's Luka, and you'd best remember it!" Luka ground his teeth together in frustration. "And you killed my father when you awoke from your little nap time twenty years ago!"

Bayonetta was stunned. Not only did someone witness it, but believed she had? The theory that she did kill that man was rising faster and faster to highly likely. Wincing in pain, she touched her forehead as the memory rushed through her…

 _What she saw when she opened her eyes was darkness. She was inside some kind of box, and it was starting to glow purple. It opened, and a large volume of water poured onto her. Kicking off the bottom, she launched herself out of the water to get to the air as primal instinct's kicked in._

 _Flopping onto the bank, she sat up and observed her surroundings. A small lake surrounded by mountains with a town in the background. She did not recognise any of it. Letting air draw into her lungs, she realised that she did not remember her name, or anything about her. Frowning and gasping, she pressed fingers to her temples as she tried to remember anything. Something that might help her._

 _Nothing._

 _Screaming in frustration, she slammed her fist into the ground. As that happened, a man rose into the air behind her, spread like an eagle, screaming in pain. Whipping her head around, she found someone wearing a mask looking at her in desperation. Staring at him with wide eyes, she watched helplessly as he was torn asunder, limb pulled from limb._

 _She raised her hands to her face and looked at them. Did she cause this? Had she killed a man in frustration? She had powers? She had no control over them?_

 _A strange sense overflowed her. It felt… heavenly. Instinctual actions kicked in, and she splayed a hand out. A strange purple symbol appeared in front of her, about th esixe of her body, if not slightly bigger. Something drew her to step through it, so she did._

 _Immediately, she was beset by strange, angelic creatures. Each was snarling in a language she could recognise, and they were saying something about the Left Eye._

 _Then they swooped, and she was into the fight of her life._

"I take it by your silence that you are trying to think of some sort of argument, some sort of reason to convince me otherwise that you didn't kill my father." Luka shook his head. "You'd be talking to deaf ears, I'm afraid."

Bayonetta finally noticed that a crowd had formed both around her and this Luka. They were murmuring about her, about him and about what he said.

"Cheshire, is this really the place to do this?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. "I am quite a busy person."

"It is, Bayonetta." Luka answered with hatred. "You will face justice for this crime, and I will be the one to give it out! The world will know!"

 _Bayonetta, can you hear me?_ Sephiroth's voice echoed in her head. She blinked in surprise but continued her conversation with Luka, realising she could do a different approach altogether.

"You would love to spank this ass for my punishment, wouldn't you?" She replied, smiling a little. "Is that why you've tried this method?"

Luka doubled back in bluster. "No! I would never want to bed a murderer! And besides, I have enough people in my life already!"

 _There is a flock of Affinities coming towards here. They have a Beloved with them._ His tone was one of urgency. A quick tap of her glasses confirmed his words, and she rolled her eyes slightly.

 _Couldn't they leave her in peace for once?_

 _Unlikely. They are looking for me._ He answered. She blinked, but then smiled. Of course he heard her.

"You're unlucky today, Cheshire, for I have business that needs attending." She gave him a wave. "Taa!"

And with that she returned to Purgatorio, leaving a dumbfounded crowd and a stunned Luka.

"Dammit!" He swore. Kicking a rock into the wall nearby, he stormed off into the crowd, cursing the ever elusive witch.

…

"Since when were you telepathic?" Bayonetta asked as she weaved through the Beloved's legs. Sephiroth was currently punching and kicking his way through the Affinities, occasionally letting loose with some magic that she recognised as basic elemental attacks. Shooting its ankles, she jumped up onto the Beloved's back and began to spank it with the help of Madama Butterfly.

"Since then." He replied, summoning a bolt of lightning to shock a trumpet-wielding Affinity who was standing outside of his reach. "I was thinking about my abilities whilst you were talking with that man, and it honestly seemed easy in concept."

"So, you can get inside my head properly now?" She asked, smirking as the Beloved tried to swat her, but Madama had other ideas and pinned the arm down with a leg. "You probably don't want to see what's in there, darling, unless you're into that sort of stuff."

He had the grace to look embarrassed, but the sensibility to understand the tease. Tossing the last Affinity into the wall, and watching it explode into blood and halos, he turned to watch her.

"I could try…" He finally said, as she stepped down from the angel. "But I don't think its morally right to mess with someone's head."

"That, my dear, is correct." She began to do her dance and chanting, and soon enough her hair retreated from her body to form into a giant demonic dog. Sephiroth gasped, went bright red and turned around, drawing a laugh from her. The demon began to feast on the Beloved, as it screamed in anguish as it was devoured alive.

Seconds later, it was over. Her hair returned to her body, and she tapped on Sephiroth's shoulder. "You can turn around now."

"What the hell was that?" He asked, and then frowned at his choice of words.

"That was an Infernal, or a demon, one of many I've made a contract with. Its name is Gammorah, the devourer of the divine." She explained briefly.

"I know that! Not the name part, but I know witches can summon Internals. But what the hell was all that? She never did that." He gestured to her body. His face still was tinted red.

Bayonetta giggled. "An umbra witch's power normally manifests with her hair, and since I'm the best umbra witch alive, I don't need to wear any clothing."

Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right, you're permanently naked. No big deal…"

They continued through the town for a little longer, trying to find anything that looked like transport, or the path out.

"With your technique." She began as they walked. "You're very heavy on your punches and kicks, like you are over-committing."

"Is it not good enough to commit to power?" He asked. "It's all I really have, I've never been formally trained with any style, or anything that's instinctual from before all of this."

"I was trained in the Umbran style, and they respected proficiency and accurateness." Bayonetta explained. "One small tap to the right bone will do the same damage as a roundhouse kick to the head."

"Power isn't necessarily everything?" He caught on quick.

"Right! You might think that it's best to punch everything like it's an annoying sibling, and it's not too shabby of a strategy, but, all you need to do is find the weak spot and take that out." She summoned her journal and opened to the page on Beloved. "For instance, you can go toe to toe with this angel, and take ten minutes beating the shit out of it, or you can aim for this little spot on his back and be done in seconds. All you must do is find the weak spot and exploit it. Always keep that in mind."

"That makes sense…" He frowned. "What about my magic?"

"Your magic looks fine, dear." She replied. "I don't recognise a lot of it, but the only warning I can give is to not over extend yourself unless you think you can win."

He nodded, then grew serious as he appraised her. "Are you alright?"

She frowned and gave him a look. "I'm not supposed to be?"

"That man back there accused you of a lot of stuff." Sephiroth stopped and folded his arms. "That's got to affect anybody."

"I think you are mistaken, darling." She faked a smile. "He didn't affect me at all."

He let it drop but didn't look like he believed her at all.

…

She was waiting for them in the second plaza overseeing the cliff and the church. Her arms were folded, her eyes glared, and her body rested on a very expensive and ornate bike behind her.

"You again?" Bayonetta asked in surprise. "You do look awfully happy to be here."

Sephiroth went rigid as he too, recognised her. "You…"

"Yes, it's me." She snapped, looking Bayonetta in the eyes. "Does the name Jeanne mean anything to you?"

So that's what her name was., she assumed. "Should it?"

Jeanne's eyes fell into despair, and then the fury doubled. "It bloody well should. He said your memories were restored. He said you would remember!"

"Who said what?" Bayonetta was getting a feeling something wasn't quite right with this woman.

"You remember him! So, remember!" She snarled.

Then all hell broke loose. Sephiroth lunged at the woman, and she dodged his initial onslaught of punches and kicks, all aimed at her abdomen. Landing atop a street light, she grinned.

"At least one of you remembers me." She shook her head. "The Father's missing experiment. Maybe it would be worth bringing you back."

"I am not your experiment!" Sephiroth took the bait, hook, line and sinker. "I'd rather die than go back!"

"You will find that it would take a lot for me to try to kill you. The Father really wants his prize back." Jeanne said. "And he is-" A huge crack broke the silence as a massive lightning bolt burnt through the light post she was standing on, with its target flipping off it and landing beside her bike. As Jeanne dusted herself off, she pretended to think, stroking her chin.

"Impressive, most impressive. Even if I don't get you today, new information on your powers is always welcome." She winked at him. "But you'll have to try better."

Growling, Sephiroth made to charge forward when Bayonetta grabbed him and pulled him back to her. As he struggled, she held him to her. "Rule number three: Never fight while emotionally compromised." She growled into his ear. "Especially when they want you to be!"

"That's right, Bayonetta." Jeanne smirked. "Just be weak. Never allow your strength to shown, always hide behind something, especially a weak reflection of what you think you are!"

This made Bayonetta flinch, and almost release Sephiroth. "You know, for someone with such a big mouth, you barely do anything to back up your little words." She replied, managing to keep her exterior from cracking. Grabbing one of her guns, she pointed it and fired at it at her. Jeanne dodged it with ease and landed back on her bike.

"You obviously don't remember a thing." She shook her head in shame. "We will meet again, and maybe he will be right!"

Revving the engine, she drove off into the streets and out of sight.

…

"So, it was her that did this to you?" Bayonetta awkwardly asked. Sephiroth had been quiet for the last half hour, and she could feel the rage emanating from him. He had remained in Purgatorio as she asked around for directions, finally giving into his initial suggestion, mostly getting glares and silence from the locals, exactly as she thought she would.

"Yes." He answered quietly. His tone was one of pain and anger, but she knew it wasn't directed at her.

"What did she do?" She tried to get him to talk, try to get him to share his story. She knew it wasn't going to be a fun experience with him like this for the rest of the Vigrid journey. And it was something that she had learnt from other mortal interactions that talking about their feelings helped in the short term, and sometimes the long term.

She was wrong, however.

"You want me to tell you about the torture I suffered from her alone?" Sephiroth faced her and hissed. "You are quite mistaken, I can tell you that. She holds nothing but pain for me!"

"If you're not going to share, then snap out of this little funk you are in or shove a stick up your ass so you have an excuse to be." She shook her head. "You know that she was trying to get under your skin, right?"

"I know! It's just that-" He paused, as if he recognised something. "Did you sense that?"

Bayonetta frowned as a very familiar presence pulled at her. "Why do I know this?"

"The church. Back where she was." He turned on his heel and ran, Bayonetta following hot on his heels. The presence was tantalising and frustrating. She knew in her head that she knew for certain what this was. She just couldn't place it or tell what it was supposed to be.

They arrived within minutes. Kicking open the door, she burst in and scanned the room.

A small girl was sitting in the centre of the room, playing with a doll.

Both adults blinked in surprise, and then looked at each other in confusion.

"She is the one?" Bayonetta asked in uncertainty. She glanced at the walls of the bare church, then settled back onto the girl.

"That's what I'm sensing." He answered uncertainly. The two of them stared at her for a while, completely unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Well, darling, I think I'm going to have a chat with the little one." She announced. "Try not to run off now!"

"What? Bayonetta!? Wait!" He called out as she entered the mortal realm. And proceeded to point a gun at the child.

"Hello there, little one." She asked coolly, as the girl looked up unperturbed by the weapon in her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi!" The girl smiled widely. "I don't know why I'm here."

Bayonetta blinked. "Are your parents around?" She lowered the gun.

"Mummy is sick, and Daddy is busy with work." The child answered. "The other witches left me here."

"Other witches?" Bayonetta asked. Wasn't she the only one left? Aside from that Jeanne figure, but something told her that she wasn't the motherly type.

"They don't like me very much." The girl pouted. "They call me nasty names and tell me I'm not wanted."

If Bayonetta was anyone else, her heart would've melted for the child. "That's not very nice of them. Come, I'll take you back to Mummy and Daddy, ok?"

She reached out to the child. As their hands touched, a spark moved from one to another, and she felt a huge wave of magic rush out. Pulling her hand back, she frowned at the girl, who was giggling.

"Wow!" The girl smiled. "That was awesome!"

"What did you just do?" She asked, now uncertain of her.

A crack sounded behind her as a tear between the dimensions opened, and Sephiroth stepped through. "What the hell just happened?"

"I'm not sure." She turned back to look at him, rising from her lean. "What did you see in Purgatorio?"

He looked at her grimly. "A big beacon of magical energy."

Bayonetta's eyes widened in surprise and she turned back to face the child, only to find it missing.

"Little one?" She asked, not expecting an answer. A huge tremor interrupted her brief search. Both diving back into Purgatorio, they started to sense something massive.

"An Auditio…" Sephiroth whispered, almost trance-like. "An Auditio comes…"

"Darling?" Bayonetta turned. "Darling?! Sephiroth?!"

He collapsed, holding his head. A massive explosion came from the right as a massive draconian head crashed into and through the church, growling and screaming. Gripping her guns tightly, she turned and faced the beast.

It was surprising easy. Because it had stupidly stuck its head into a small space, the only thing it could do was watch as she pummelled the side of its head with punches, kicks, bullets and wicked weaves. It ineffectually snapped at her, but she could see the attack from a mile off.

It grew tired of her kicking its ass back to kingdom come and pulled out of the church. Sensing that it wasn't finished with them yet, she turned and ran outside and away from the church, grabbing Sephiroth into her arms. His face was contorting in pain, obviously fighting something inside of him. Not a moment too soon, a massive explosion wiped the church clean from existence. Glancing back, Bayonetta saw the attacker.

It had two angelic wings, two draconian heads, two claws and one massive upside-down face on its chest. It was breathing fire, lasers of fire and fireballs everywhere, and it seemed intent on destroying the town. A memory flashed into her mind;

 _Umbra Witches shooting at the same angel from a bridge, several more rushing passed her, urging for her to join in on the fight._

 _She watched nearly helplessly as it slaughtered them one by one._

 _Eventually, the witches had annoyed it sufficiently, and it growled and retreated._

So this angel was in her past. That was something that could be helpful. It was a former memory of hers, and that was new. Letting her feet run, she saw an entrance way high on one the small mountains, just past a courtyard and building. Launching herself, she jumped straight in as the fountain exploded into fire. Lava spewed out of the ground as the power of the Auditio began to destroy the town.

…

His body felt like it was trying to tear itself apart. His angelic and Lumen side was praising and worshipping the Auditio and was trying to influence him to meet it. His demonic and Umbran side was hissing and snarling and demanded that he kill it for them. Both sides were at war, trying to direct him and take the reins to their respective pathways.

He felt grateful for Bayonetta. She had helped in to safety for a second time, and his life in the process as well. Opening his eyes, he saw her running and leaping throughout a cave system filled with old architecture. She glanced down at him, and she looked like she had seen something bad.

"Wakey wakey." She said, trying to keep her normal tease in her voice. "What happened back there?"

"My body hurts…" He croaked. "Trying…to…do… two separate… things…"

"Ah." She didn't understand but didn't press the issue. She ran until she finally saw the end of the tunnel. Sephiroth closed his eyes and hoped for the pain to subside, or the Auditio to leave.


	5. Chapter 4: Fortitude

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything here at all!_

The end of the cave system opened onto a cracked and broken street. To the left stood a giant coliseum, looming over the pair. To the right…

Vigrid burned. The town was alight with flame, each antique house and building crumbling. Bayonetta looked and felt a pang of sadness, and guilt began built up in her.

This was her fault. She could feel it in her heart. Whatever had occurred with the girl had attracted the Auditio, and it had destroyed the town, and killed everyone in it. Her guilt quickly turned to rage as she turned away from the depressing scene.

"Sodding Laguna…" She hissed. "If any of the fucking churches knew about what their holy figures do, they'd disown them in a heartbeat…"

"I think I can stand…" A weak voice said to her from her arms, and she gently placed Sephiroth down, sitting him up on a rock. He grimaced in pain as his eyes shifted to hers, and she placed a hand in his forehead, only to draw it back at the temperature of it.

"Bloody hell, did you dunk your head in lava?" She looked at him with sympathy. "What is going on?"

He held a hand to his head as he replied. "My halves are trying to get me to fuck the Auditio or kill it. It hurts."

Bayonetta couldn't help but let out a small laugh. He gave her a pained grin in response. "At least someone is enjoying this."

"How do you feel?" She asked, helping him stand.

"Like a rubber band that has been stretched in two directions." He looked over at the burning city. "That's our fault, isn't it?"

"If you think about it, the only way it's our fault is if you believe in the butterfly effect." Bayonetta smiled, trying to lighten his mood.

It didn't work. "Then it is…" He looked onwards to the coliseum. "I suppose that's our final destination and where we split?"

She knew that it probably was. The city limits were supposedly right here, at this coliseum. She had little to no idea what lay beyond, and then she realised that she had just gotten used to Sephiroth tagging along. Her mind began to whirl as she began to ponder whether it was worth letting him leave now, especially since they had not trained properly yet.

"You know, if you really wanted to, you could tag along with me to Ithavoll." Bayonetta threw the idea at him as they slowly walked to the coliseum. "I could definitely use the company in more ways than one."

"Ithavoll?" He choked out. "You're going there?"

"Yes, it's my destination on this little holiday of mine, darling." She frowned back at him. "Have you been there before?"

"I was made there." He scowled at her. "I'm not going back anytime soon."

Bayonetta didn't answer. She felt it wouldn't be right for anyone to try and convince him. Her heart slightly fell at his proclamation, and she realised she was going to be alone again.

…

The pair entered the coliseum to a strange sight. The Auditio was waiting for them, as if it was its nest. The two draconian heads snapped and growled at the pair, whilst the main head smiled at them.

" _Greetings from Paradiso._ " It rumbled. " _Were you the two that woke me from my slumber?_ "

"Possibly." Bayonetta answered. Her hands were poised to grab her guns at any time to defend herself if need be. Sephiroth on the other hand, was clutching his head in pain.

" _Tell me child, has the war ended?_ " It addressed her, ignoring the man at her side. " _I tire of this fight against the Umbra._ "

"If I were your child, I'd make an awfully ugly witch." She managed to dodge the question. She hoped it didn't notice. "Your face is one only a mother could love and one I could never forget."

It laughed, sending vibrations throughout the stadium. " _You have a mouth, child, and you use it well. Do we quarrel?_ "

She shook her head in response. "I don't believe so, unless you want to continue what we started in the church?" She was also hoping it didn't want to fight; she didn't think she could fight it and protect Sephiroth from anything that it might do.

" _Ah, you were that one. Apologies. We do not quarrel then. May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you._ " And with that it began to rise, leaving the coliseum and the pair.

"That went well." Sephiroth remarked from beside her, his voice still betraying the pain he was in. She nodded, still watching the angel rise.

"My good luck streak has returned, I believe." She smiled. "Maybe I should take you to Vegas, one day."

A cracking voice was all they needed to hear to let them know that it was all about to go to shit.

"Fortitudo!"

A small red figure appeared at the lip of the coliseum. The Auditio turned to face the newcomer, and both Bayonetta and Sephiroth growled at her appearance.

"Jeanne?" She asked for confirmation, and Sephiroth grunted. He held one hand up to his temple, and seemed to be massaging it.

" _Another witch…_ " Fortitudo greeted the figure. " _Do we quarrel?_ "

"Not if you know what is good for you." Jeanne answer. "You have forgotten your place, Fortitudo, and your purpose!"

" _My purpose is to eliminate the Umbran threat._ " It thundered. " _Unless there is another clan hidden away, it has been neutralised. There is no reason for us to continue this folly._ "

Jeanne scoffed. "That is where you are completely wrong! Your purpose, idiot, was to capture the bearer of the Left Eye, of which you both failed and somehow managed to get yourself sealed away!"

Bayonetta felt a memory rush through her as the other Umbran spoke. Holding her head, she doubled over as it overwhelmed her senses…

 _She was sitting in her cell, watching the witches convene. The last bearer had fallen the night before, her arrogance allowing her contracted Infernal's to drag her soul and body down to them. And as was tradition, the strongest witch was to now to gain the right to become the bearer of the Left Eye, the fabled Umbran treasure that was gifted to them by the old God._

 _And that witch to many was Jeanne. The elder's faced her in a line, as she stood at attention._

" _Jeanne De'Arc!" They began. "You have been chosen to undergo the trials to become the Left Eye, the overseer of the light and the leader of our clan. You have been chosen because of your skill, leadership and combat prowess, to which you are unequalled."_

 _Jeanne, to her credit, did not exhibit pride or happiness at this statement. To them it was simply the truth, Bayonetta reflected. As far as anything went, Jeanne was the strongest witch in the clan, and the rightful bearer of the Left Eye. Nodding, the witch in red let them continue._

" _To make this official, the Left Eye demands a trial by combat, as is tradition, by an opponent of equal or greater skill. You may make this choice, or we shall provide one for you given you can't select._ "

 _Jeanne nodded in confirmation. "I can choose anyone, right?"_

 _The Elder's nodded back. "Anyone, as long as they fit the criteria."_

 _Jeanne turned to her. "Then I chose the outcast, _!"_

 _The Elder's immediately broke into shouting, the leader's voice carrying over the others._

" _You can't! It is forbidden!"_

 _Jeanne ignored them. "She fits the criteria you described; she is of equal or greater skill and is my choice. We have duelled before and are evenly matched." She tilted her head. "You also said I could choose anyone."_

 _The Elder's all glared at her. Jeanne turned on her heel, and walked over to the cell, opening it._

" _Will you face me in this hallowed arena?" She asked, reaching down to Bayonetta. Bayonetta reached back and allowed her to pull her off the ground._

" _I accept your challenge." She smiled in response, ignoring the looks of the other assembled witches. "May the true Eye triumph."_

Her trip down memory lane was interrupted by a strained voice whispering to her.

"Bayonetta?" She looked up to see Sephiroth's pained face staring in concern at hers. "Are you OK?"

"I am." She straightened herself. "At least I think."

The Auditio's booming voice then interrupted them both.

" _My quest to find the Left Eye ended with the demise of the Umbran Clan._ " It growled with its twin draconian heads at her. " _Jubileus will not be resurrected this time, unless the Father has another plan, or another Eye hidden up his sleeve._ "

The name did not mean anything to Bayonetta, but Sephiroth shot upright, his pain and mental battles forgotten. He squinted at the two figures in the sky, seemingly reignited by the words.

Jeanne gestured down to the pair. "Use your other sight, fool! The Eye still lives! If you can defeat her and take it, perhaps the Father will forgive you for your stupidity."

The Auditio growled, but turned to the pair in the coliseum, forgetting about the witch in red for now. " _Apologies, but it seems we do quarrel. The glory of Jubileus will rise, and you are required for it._ "

Sephiroth shook his head. "We won't let that happen. We can't let that happen!"

Bayonetta gave him a glance, and then began to channel her power as her sleeves retracted, and the beehive splayed out and unformed, straightening itself out. "I don't like all this talk about resurrections and eyes, it bores me so much. We will continue what we begun?"

Fortitudo's main head grinned. " _I apologise now for the defeat you will suffer later._ "

Bayonetta ignored the taunt and instead summoned Madama Butterfly to punch the angel square on the nose, striking first and gaining the upper hand. Roaring in pain, Fortitudo answered by launching twin fireballs, one from each head, at the two.

Jumping over them, the pair leaped up to engage the massive Laguna, and the battle began in earnest. Flipping and jumping away from its bites and thrusts with its heads, she took every opportunity to send wicked weaves into the main head. Sephiroth had grabbed onto the second head, and was pummelling it with mostly ineffective punches, but it was enough to annoy the head away from her. Shooting at the third head's eyes, she heard it roar and send a fireball in her direction. Slipping past it, she turned to see Sephiroth launch a giant ball of ice the main head, hitting it directly on its chin. Fortitudo screamed in pain, and slammed its heads around, trying to shake the persistent man off.

It succeeded, to Bayonetta's horror. It slammed its head into the wall of the coliseum, launching Sephiroth upwards. Turning around with the speed of the wind, it aimed at the helpless man with its tail like a baseball bat, and it scored a direct hit. Sent flying, Sephiroth hit the opposite wall hard, slamming into it, through it and well out of the coliseum and the battle.

Laughing, Fortitudo turned its attention to the witch. " _It seems your friend is not a match for much. Will you fare any better, Umbra witch?_ "

"Enough talk." Bayonetta growled and began to formulate a plan of attack. "You will pay for that."

The Auditio answered by opening its mouth and shooting a laser of molten lava at the floor. She could feel the heat intensity of the beam, and she could sense the pressure building in the floor beneath her. Weaving her fingers, she activated her witch time as the floor exploded into fire, sending chucks of rocks into the sky. Nimbly jumping between them, she scaled the space between her and Fortitudo, leaping onto its right head.

Restoring time, the Auditio seemed confused as to where she had disappeared to, until she summoned a stomp from Madama Butterfly to slam into the head she was standing on. Somersaulting off and grabbing the chin, she pulled down with all her might, flipping over the stunned angel and sending it crashing onto the floor. Landing beside the head, she summoned two fists from Madama Butterfly and lifted the Lagunan like a hammer and started slamming it around in a casual fashion.

Almost sighing audibly at the ease of it all, she let Madama Butterfly leave her for the moment. Grabbing the snout with both hands, she tensed, twisted it slightly to the right, and then threw all her strength behind one massive twist to the left. It was enough to shatter its armour, dislocate its bones and tear through its flesh, decapitating it cleanly. Letting the head and neck fall to the ground, she briefly looked away as demonic hands rose from a portal underneath, grabbing and pulling the fallen head into Inferno.

Slowly, in what she assumed was great pain, the Auditio stood back up. Its remaining head growled at her and lunged forward, trying to squash her. Sidestepping it, she summoned a boot from Butterfly and slammed downwards, pushing the head deep into the ground of the coliseum. As it struggled to free itself, it simply fell onto Bayonetta to kick, punch, shoot and wicked weave the head until she eventually pummelled her way through it, decapitating that head as well. More Infernals appeared from the portal to grab the second head, and they pulled it through without a fuss.

"Giving up already?" Bayonetta taunted the mostly harmless Auditio, wagging her finger at it. "Surely you can go another round?"

Fortitudo merely bellowed in response, causing the coliseum to shatter around her. Leaping up into the air, the Auditio seemingly commanded the coliseum to arise with it. Leaping onto the sides of the coliseum with little effort, she again weaved together another time spell, and released it at the apex. It, to her astounding run of luck today, ignored her attempt of slowing time down and continued to move at normal speed. Slamming into the walls where she stood, it had given up on any finesse or strategy and was simply trying to squash her like a cockroach.

Her lip curled in disgust at the comparison. Jumping to yet another part of the coliseum, she looked up to it trying to swipe her with its tail, like it did to Sephiroth earlier. Shrugging, she simply caught the tail, swung it around and threw the Auditio across to the other side of the coliseum.

"A GRA ORS!" Her hair left her body as her incantation finished, and a giant bird flew after the flying Auditio. Catching up to it easily, it smashed the helpless angel into the coliseum, and began pecking at it like a woodpecker, destroying the main head by putting a giant hole in it. Summoning Madama Butterfly's fists again, she broke apart the wall she was standing on, grabbing them and threw them towards the stunned Fortitudo. Resuming time properly, she watched with apathy as the rocks flew with great speed into the already battered Auditio, tearing a hole directly through the main head.

"You know, you're far less ugly when you are screaming." She commented, reactivating witch time as to not fall to the Earth.

" _The prophecy was true…_ " The dying angel gasped out. " _Your power… is indescribable… Incredible…_ "

"Prophecy?" Bayonetta frowned, then stepped forward. "Explain yourself!"

" _I, Fortitudo, am but a simple sacrifice for the resurrection of the Creator._ " It ignored her. " _May the Creator, Jubileus, grace you on your journey._ "

Rolling her eyes at its pretentiousness, she snapped her fingers. A portal to Inferno opened behind it, and arms grabbed at it. Screaming in pain, and defiance, the weakened Fortitudo was dragged in and was no more.

A sharp pain interrupted her thoughts, and she placed a hand to her temple. It was for naught, as the pain intensified, and she lost consciousness.

…

Sephiroth awoke amongst the rubble. Shaking his head to refocus his thoughts, he noticed immediately that the coliseum he was just in had somehow gotten about a kilometre in the air, and the Auditio he was fighting was now headless and being pecked on by a giant bird.

"I've seen stranger things…" He said in wonder. He watched the Audito get pulled into Inferno, and his two sides began their war anew. Clutching his head, he tried to ignore the cheers of the Infernals and the wails of the Laguna. Getting to his feet, he tried to spot Bayonetta amongst the ruins of the Coliseum.

He found her falling to Earth.

"Bayonetta!" He screamed, then leaped after her. Jumping off the falling rubble, he noticed his two sides were increasing in their battle for dominance as he approached her. Catching her, he nearly blacked out from the pain he was undergoing. Gritting his teeth, he fought through it and tried to jump back down.

Instead, he began to lose consciousness, as the pain overwhelmed him. Seeing a path and road in the distance, he launched himself with whatever strength he had left in that direction, hoping he had enough to make it there with her in one piece.

…

Jeanne shook her head with disappointment as she watched the events unfold.

"What a colossal waste of time and effort." She began to talk to herself. "One Auditio, especially the most stupid and overconfident of them all, would not defeat Cereza and you know it."

"Although." She placed a hand on her chin. "It seems that our little experiment has no skills we can truly examine. Aside from that brief use of ice magic, but we already knew he could do that. Just not to that extent."

She seemed to wait a moment before continuing. "Yes, I agree. It's time to use one of the Auditio we know won't fuck up fully."

Turning, she walked back to her bike. Getting on, she grimaced to herself. She had a meeting to look forward to.


	6. Chapter 5: Memories

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't own anything from Bayonetta or Final Fantasy 7. Now, here is a giant lore dump, so be prepared for my interpretation of events!_

...

 _Bayonetta couldn't remember a time when she was unhappy. But she was starting to think now could be._

" _Daddy?" She asked the tall, pale man beside her. "What is going on?"_

" _Daddy has to leave for work." The man smiled briefly at her, then turned his attention to the three other pale men standing across from the house, glaring at the two. "He won't be long."_

" _We knew this day was coming, _." Her mother answered. "We couldn't hide her forever."_

" _I know." The man turned back to his wife. "Take her somewhere safe, if you can."_

" _I will." The former witch nodded. "I will miss you -"_

…

" _Mummy?" A young Bayonetta asked a cloaked figure beside her. "What's going on?"_

" _Mummy has to talk with the elder witches." The figure replied. "You are needed, my child."_

 _The witches watching them sneered and looked in disgust at both Bayonetta and her mother. Fearfully, she reached up and grabbed her mother's hand._

" _It's going to be OK, my child." Her mother smiled with reassurance. "Have faith in the Elder's. They'll take care of us."_

" _Mummy? Where is Daddy?" She whispered, looking around for the pale man._

" _Daddy…" Her mother swallowed. "Daddy has some work to attend to."_

" _Okay." Bayonetta knew her mother was lying, but couldn't figure out where or why._

 _"We need to follow their directions." She whispered to her. "Do not act up, _. We can't afford to."_

…

 _Her mother was mad. Bayonetta knew that. She didn't like it when Mummy got mad, because then it didn't feel like Mummy loved her anymore._

" _Mummy?" She asked, trying not to sound needy._

" _Not now dear." She replied, trying to sound calm._

" _But mummy…" Bayonetta tried again. Her mother turned and faced her. Her mouth was turned in a sharp line, and her eyes were full of anger and pain._

" __, you will be quiet!" She yelled at her. Bayonetta instantly felt horrible and tears began to pool before her eyes. Before she could stop them, they leaked out to fall down her cheeks. Holding back sobs, she saw a whirlwind of emotions flow through her mother. She had never yelled at her. Never._

 _Her mother then reached down and grabbed her. Embracing her, she held the child close to her. Bayonetta then felt tears running down her mother's cheek and onto her._

" _Oh _..." Her mother whispered to her. "I am so sorry… So sorry for everything…"_

…

 _Bayonetta didn't like her new home._

 _It was dark, damp, hard and cold. Her mother had tried to say how it was going to be an exciting adventure, but the new house was in every way shape or form worse than the old one._

 _All her toys were taken from her. All of mother's kitchen was gone. Her father's work room was gone. Her playroom was gone. The windows were replaced with iron lattices, and the front wall was replaced with metal bars. The colourful walls were stripped away for grey stone, and the pictures were replaced with the glares of the witches._

 _It felt like one of those prisons mother always told her about._

 _Mother tried to be happy and excited about the new home, but even Bayonetta could see the sadness and despair in her eyes grow every day._

" _When are we going back Mummy?" She asked one day. "I don't like this new home. I miss my home."_

" _I miss it too, _." Her mother answered, faking a smile. "But we must stay here, the Elder's ordered us to."_

" _The Elders are meanies then." Bayonetta proclaimed, and then got slapped in the face by a small demonic hand._

" _Quiet! You will not speak of the Elders that way!" A witch from the outside growled at Bayonetta. "Such filth doesn't deserve to speak."_

 _Her mother burst into tears when the witch left. Bayonetta walked over to her, confused._

" _Mummy, what is filth?"_

…

" _Mummy, why don't I have any friends?"_

 _Her mother's face fell when Bayonetta returned from the school that the elder witches had reluctantly decided to let Bayonetta attend. She was excited at the prospect of meeting similar-aged people but had received nothing but teasing and bullying from everyone, including the supposed teacher. Now she had no desire to go anymore and her small, sad face looked at her mothers with desperateness._

" _I don't know _, I don't know…" She gathered Bayonetta in her arms and cradled her, comforting the hurting child._

" _Am I different?" She asked as she held onto her mother._

"_ __, you are different." Her mother looked at her and smiled. "You are the most special and wonderful daughter I could've ever asked for."_

" _Isn't being special the same as different?" Bayonetta frowned at her mother, the logic sound to her mind._

" _No, it means you are unique." Her mother tilted her head. "Eventually, someone will see you for what you are, not what the Elder's tell them."_

" _Okay Mummy…" She clearly did not fully understand but accepted it anyway._

…

 _Bayonetta didn't want to say hello to her mother. She just wanted to sleep. The bullying and teasing had only gotten worse over the last 6 months, and she didn't feel like wanting to go anywhere, or do anything. Her dreams were nothing like reality, and she often wished that she would never wake up so she could stay in her dream, where Elena and her friends accepted her instead of pushing her in the mud 'where she belonged'._

 _Climbing onto her small cot to try to sleep again, she noticed a strange cat-like thing staring back at her. Shrieking with surprise, she ran to find her mother._

" _Mummy!" She cried as she found her. Her mother looked at her with a slight frown._

" _What's wrong?" She asked, ignoring the dirt on her daughter's patchwork dress. It horrified her to know that the regular sight of her daughter caked in dirt and muck was becoming the standard, and that she too was getting used to it. She didn't show it to Bayonetta, though._

" _There's a monster on my bed!" She pointed in the direction of her cot. Instead of summoning a demon to deal with it, or even looking over, her mother smiled._

" _It's not a monster, it's a friend." She explained gently. Bayonetta frowned._

" _It's a friend?" She asked, confused. Her mother smiled and nodded. Walking back over to her cot, she grabbed the doll and presented it to the curious Bayonetta._

"_ __, meet Cheshire. Cheshire, meet _." She said with a smile. Bayonetta grabbed the toy and held it close to her chest. "I made him for you, since you need to have someone you need to hold onto when I am not around. A friend that you can always keep close to your heart, in all times of need."_

 _Her first friend. The words felt so good in such a sad time. She looked up to her mother and gave her a warm smile._

 _"Thank you, Mummy."_

…

" _You can't do this to me!" Her mother was crying and screaming as the other witches began to summon their infernal demons to make her move. Bayonetta watched in terror as they dragged her out of their home._

" _Mummy!" Bayonetta cried. "Leave her alone!"_

" _Silence filth!" A witch backhanded her. "You will not speak."_

" __!" Her mother screamed her name as she was pulled around the corner. Bursting into tears, they all left the girl kneeling on the floor, Cheshire held tightly to her chest._

…

" _Where's Mummy?" Bayonetta asked the caretaker, who looked like they would've rather been anywhere else._

" _She is sick." The caretaker answered. "Sicker than you could imagine. The other witches are taking care of her."_

 _Bayonetta fell silent. "What about Daddy?"_

 _The caretaker stopped in her motions and tilted her head in thought. "Your father is being put to work as we speak, I would assume." She then glared at her. "Shut up, half-breed. Your questions tire me."_

…

 _Bayonetta sat alone in the schoolyard, watching the other children play. She didn't feel jealous anymore, she just felt nothing. Turning away, she busied herself memorizing the numbers that they had been told to._

" _You're the different one." A French-accented voice from behind her interrupted her. Squeaking in surprise, she turned to see a silver-haired girl dressed in red looking at her._

" _Yes I am." Bayonetta looked at her with expectancy. The girl frowned._

" _Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked._

" _Aren't you going to beat me up?" Bayonetta tilted her head to the side. The girl looked at her in shock._

" _No!" She instantly refuted her. "Why would I?"_

" _Everyone does it." Bayonetta shrugged._

" _I heard about you and wanted to see who you are." The girl grinned in a conspiratorial fashion. "Want to be friends?"_

" _You want to be friends?" The words came with a lot of contained hope._

" _Yep." The girl held her hand out. "I'm-"_

…

Bayonetta woke with a start. Breathing heavily, she sat up and instantly was confused as to where they were. A strange beige platform surrounded by four stone pillars was her immediate surroundings; a stone path led off into the distance where she saw several massive statues, with the female ones desecrated and destroyed. A giant archway formed by what she recognised was a giant Lumen Sage and an Umbran witch dominated the landscape, with a giant spear penetrating the Umbran statue.

Where was she? What did she see in her mind? Were those dreams real? Were they memories?

But first things first. Where the hell was she and where the hell was Sephiroth?

She didn't get an answer to the first, but she did find him. He was on the ground, about 5 metres to her left, curled up in a ball. His body was trembling, and his breathes were sharp and laboured.

"Sephiroth?" She crawled to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched at the contact, and she realised that he was sleeping, and having a nightmare. Closing her eyes slightly, she summoned one of her guns and shot it into the sky, startling and waking him. He briefly panicked, but slowly relaxed as he realised who was there.

"Bayonetta?" He weakly asked. She rolled her eyes fully and nodded.

"I thought you would have left by now, darling." She gestured around. "We most certainly aren't in Vigrid anymore, and that is where you said you were going to split."

He didn't answer. Instead, he began to sit up, stiffly moving and confirming Bayonetta's earlier assumption; he hadn't slept well. He regarded her warily, like he didn't exactly recognise her.

"Where are we?" He asked her, and she laughed at the irony of it all.

"If anything comes to memory, you dragged me out of that coliseum before it fell back to the earth. I can only assume you flew somewhere and then collapsed from the exhaustion, and then we both slept until now." She frowned at him. "Were you sleep flying or something?"

"Not quite. I can't fly, for starters, with just the one wing." He pressed a hand to his forehead. "I grabbed you after you collapsed, then jumped in a random direction, and fell over here. I don't remember anything else."

"Well, this is certainly random. And I suppose that was falling with style." She rose to her feet and offered him a hand. "What was all that about with the Auditio? It mentioned one thing and you went from a drunkard to sober, for lack of a better term."

"All the members of me apparently all agree that resurrecting this Jubileus is a bad idea." He accepted her hand and stood up. "So, they stopped fighting, and are probably in a truce, for lack of a better term, regarding the Auditio, I'd wager. They're still fighting over me though."

"Aren't you a popular guy?" She raised an eyebrow. "There better be no more fucking off during a fight. I can count on you to help me tag team an Auditio in the future, right?"

"Provided I don't get thrown out of the fight at the beginning." He smiled wryly, but then grew serious. "I've been thinking actually, about me leaving."

"Are you thinking of staying with me?" She tilted her head, then smirked. "I know we haven't really gotten to do any of the things I promised."

"Not for those reasons." He shook his head as his cheeks grew red. "I think I need more than basic pointers, maybe full training. We can both agree that I am in no way in shape or form to survive this world. And…" He hesitated.

"And?" Bayonetta prompted.

"Ithavoll is a dangerous place." He looked at her with worry. "I don't think I could let you in good conscious walk in there without someone watching your back."

Bayonetta wanted to say that she could fight her way through this tower without a problem, but she understood the merits of having a second person, and the guy was earnest if nothing else.

What could possibly go wrong?

"As long as you don't affect my style, darling." She smiled, and so did he.


	7. Chapter 6: A Piece of History

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything I shouldn't own from Bayonetta or Final Fantasy 7_

"First thing, Darling; where the bloody hell are we?" Bayonetta walked around on the stone circular platform. "I don't recognise this place at all."

"According to the locals;" Sephiroth gestured to the birds and various fauna. "Terra Nullus."

She laughed at his attempt at a joke but continued to investigate. Walking towards the pillars on the side, she noticed some runes that she instinctually recognised.

"The Umbran Training Grounds." She translated as Sephiroth walked over to her. "How the fuck do I know that?"

"Probably because you are a witch; it is your language after all." He logically deduced. "Any other helpful information you can translate?"

"This the beginning of the Umbran mountains." Bayonetta turned to him, and gestured to the path ahead. "So, we are at least on the right track."

He nodded. "Isn't it a two or three day walk between here and Vigrid Airbase?"

Bayonetta nodded and then added sarcastically; "It's why I wanted to get some fucking transport to do all of this."

"Well, it's wasted time if we don't start now." Sephiroth gestured to the path. "Ladies first."

"Aren't you chivalrous?" She flirted. "My, my..."

He blushed as she walked past him, beginning their journey.

…

It turned out that progress was slow. Much slower than either of them liked.

Angels had apparently infested this place, and they were an obnoxious hindrance to the two. Being the only one with any sort of weapon, Bayonetta had taken centre stage with Madama Butterfly, slaughtering angels left and right. Sephiroth played the role of support, keeping angels off her back and healing her if she got hit.

Before the end of the day, as the sun was setting beneath the hills in the background, they had only made two kilometres of progress.

…

"You know what, darling?" Bayonetta flung the last Affinity onto his fist, impaling it. "These angels are being rather rude to us."

Throwing it away, he shrugged. "These are the former holy sites of the Umbra clan. Something will be drawing them here."

"Are you saying we could find something of great importance?" Her eyes brightened. "Like a lost Umbran treasure? Ever since those mortals made that Lara Croft game I've always wanted to be a treasure hunter." She struck a pose as she finished talking.

He frowned at her and turned to watch the last of the sun dip below the horizon. "Just call it a hunch."

"You're no fun." She abandoned her pose and strode to his side. "Do you want to call it a night?"

"This place is probably a death trap at night, even with our heightened senses." He looked up at the sky, then back to her. "And it's about to rain. Honestly, yes. I'm more than ready."

"Really? That is a comforting thought" She turned to the sky as a drop fell onto her face, splashing onto her glasses. "Well, there is shelter ahead."

Walking over to the entrance to an underground catacomb, Bayonetta paused. Turning back to her, Sephiroth gave her a quizzical look.

"I recognise this place." She held a hand out, as if she was touching someone, or something. She hesitated, and looked at the platform behind them. "Something happened here."

"In this particular place?" He gestured to the tunnel in front of him.

"Yes…" She moved towards the opening and made to step into the tunnel. A magical barrier appeared as she did, blocking her progress. Latin and Enochian scriptures slid down it, reading and barring her entry.

"What a fucking turnoff." She slammed her fist against the barrier. Sephiroth frowned at it, but did not try to do anything. "Can't you go ahead and get it off, so I don't have to try to?"

"My magic cannot dispel this; hell, I don't know if I can dispel barriers." He answered, letting his hand spark against the barrier, flinching at the pain that shot through his fingers. "Whatever is in there will be staying there."

"Hmph." She replied, obviously ruffled by the turn of events. "It looks like we will be spending a night in the rain."

"It's just water." He smiled as he teased her. Bayonetta gave him a look of mock horror, but then grew serious.

"It will be bloody uncomfortable." She turned to the open space ahead of them. "There's got to be some shelter here, somewhere."

…

To Bayonetta, it was extremely uncomfortable. Since her hair was her clothes and coupled with the fact that she hated the feeling of wet hair, it was not a pleasant 10 minutes before the rain began to pour down. They did find shelter, if you could call it that.

They were gathered under a small alcove, both trying to huddle as deep as they could into the wall. The simple fact was that it wasn't anywhere close to being concave enough for one of them, had them both try to find something, literally anything else, for shelter. It unfortunately was the best option when everything else was worse and a glorified ledge.

Sephiroth was silent and staunch against the weather. Having been used to far worse conditions than this, he was content with just waiting out the night and the storm. Bayonetta, by comparison, looked like a drenched cat. Her posture and demure screamed miserable, and she didn't look like she was enjoying life one bit.

He looked at her and began to feel a little guilty for his earlier tease. "Are you sure you're going to be OK?"

She gave him a sour look. "I'll live..."

Closing his eyes, he quickly planned out the next few minutes. Turning around so his back was to the storm, he spread his wing to act as a wall for her. Concentrating, he willed a small flame to appear in his palm. Trying to think of the few happy memories he had, he fed it with warmth and compassion until it glowed a dull red. Mistaking his intentions, Bayonetta raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to set me on fire?" She gave out a short bark of laughter. "What a way to fix the problem, darling."

Ignoring her, he gently took her hand and pushed the flame into her. She straightened up instantly as the spell rushed through her body, drying her instantly and warming her up. Eyes wide, she realised that he was literally sacrificing his own body heat and exposing himself properly to the cold and rain for her.

Then she started to feel guilty, but it got quelled as her selfishness and content took hold.

"What spell is that?" She asked, relaxing back onto the cliff.

"I think I'm going to call it warmth." His reply was jovial despite his chattering teeth, and she laughed. "Fits, doesn't it?"

…

The second day was slightly better than the first. Even though progress remained slow, the rain clouds had disappeared, leaving the weather (to Bayonetta's delight) to become overcast.

…

"May I ask you a question?" Bayonetta asked as Sephiroth began to burn the angelic feathers to form a firepit. Looking across to the witch, who was sprawled on a rock like she was modelling some article of clothing, he shrugged and continued to watch the feathers burn.

"What happened to you?" He froze for a second, but then busied himself with the fire. He stayed silent for a while, and she began to worry that she had hit too big of a nerve.

"You don't have to answer, it is none of my business." She arched her eyebrow, stretching out with her body. "But I think I need to know the history of you if I want to understand your whole deal with the Ithavoll group."

"I don't know what happened, because I don't remember." He began. "My first memory is one of extreme pain, with Jeanne's hands on my head. From there it became a series of experiments, tests and then it all became glorified torture as I managed to live through it all."

"What did they do?" She asked. "You don't have to go into detail."

"Well, they injected Infernal and Lagunan blood and cells into me, that I know for certain. They might have even put souls into me." He winced as the memories returned. "That hurt, especially on the Laguna ones. My entire body tried to rip itself apart, from the opposing forces, but it didn't. That's apparently where most of the previous experiments died, or so Jeanne told me."

"When I re stabilised and became somewhat mobile, Jeanne made me fight her, under orders from the man in charge of it all, the Father. He is a Lumen Sage, the last survivor, as he proclaimed to me, several times over." He swallowed. "I nearly died, several times over, from this 'training'. The only reason I'm still alive was because my magical abilities ignited and allowed me to heal my body from death, which was also rather pain inducing."

He stayed silent as he reflected to himself.

"Rodin mentioned you had Umbran and Lumen cells." Bayonetta prompted. He nodded in confirmation.

"He kept this woman in a tank, and I was ninety nine percent certain she was dead, and from her similarities to you, a former Umbran Witch. Upon realising I wasn't dead from the 'training', he began to put cells from her and himself into me, in order to strengthen and sharpen my powers, but all he ended up doing was weakening me physically as the Infernal and Laguna cells strove for dominance over me, as they recognised the cells of their various pacts. Eventually I became stable, and then it was back to the never ending loop of fighting angels, Jeanne and more painful experiments to me for the better part of twenty years."

"To recap, you are part Lumen, Umbran, Demon and Angel." She listed off on her fingers, and he nodded to all of them. She gestured to his back. "Where did the wing come from?"

"I grew this from the inhuman cells striving for dominance; they tried to change me to adapt to their needs." He looked in shame at his wing, which was currently hanging limply. "I used to have two, but they tore one off after I tried to escape by flying out of there."

She gave him a look of sympathy. "Does it hurt now? Your body, I mean, not your wing."

"Not as much as it used to." He looked down at the ground. "It still makes everything mighty uncomfortable."

"You have had and are living one hell of a life." Bayonetta remarked. He laughed sarcastically.

"You could say that."

…

The third day was worse. Moving deeper into the training grounds had found shelter in the form of a small town, but now the infestation of angels had increased tenfold, causing the progression to almost grind to a halt.

…

"Who did you kill?" Sephiroth asked as Bayonetta used a giant palm from Madama Butterfly to sweep rubble out of a small room. A small demonic hand appeared and slapped the back of his head, causing him to grunt in pain.

"That's a question you shouldn't be asking a lady." She smiled politely at him.

"You said we should know each other's pasts." He argued. "You have a history with that man, and I believe that is not going to be the last of him."

Her shoulders sagged. "Are you really going to make me?"

"You don't have to, but I would appreciate it."

Waiting a couple of minutes, all he got was silence from the cleaning witch. He was about to leave when she turned to him reluctantly. "When I awoke, I found myself at the bottom of a lake. I got out and got onto the bank, and then a man exploded behind me."

Sephiroth blinked. "His father?"

"Yes. I don't know why he died, but he did. He could've died from something else, he could've died to free me, he could've died to restore my powers." She shook her head. "I don't know. This boy could be right for all I know, but still could be completely wrong."

Sephiroth looked pensive. "What do you truly think?"

"There's one thing you should learn about talking to a lady, darling." She smiled again. "Never ask too many personal questions on the first date."

…

Bayonetta found Sephiroth standing in front of a wall. He was staring at it intently, like he expected it to do something.

"This looks interesting." Bayonetta drily stated. "Is there any particular reason you are staring at this particular wall, in this particular room, localised entirely in this particular place?"

"There is Enochian engraved here." He pointed at the left side, ignoring her tirade, and Bayonetta could barely see the indents. "Can you translate it?"

She looked over it for a minute, reading it. "It is a prophecy, or so it thinks."

"A prophecy?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her. "A prophecy for what?"

"Something about the end of the world, or the creation of a new one." She shrugged. "It mentions a lot about two eyes of the world, and two children born of darkness and light."

"Born of light and dark?" He looked down at his hands. She noticed and rolled her eyes, her thoughts on Fortitudo's parting words.

"Prophecies are never real, especially ones scrawled onto the side of a wall, darling." She walked away, gesturing for him to follow. "I wouldn't spend more than a hot minute on it."

…

It was the eve of the fourth day when Bayonetta finally turned her attention to the elephant in the room.

"You need a weapon."

Sephiroth looked up from his healing trance, confused. "Why?"

"You aren't cut for the punching life." She explained callously. When he frowned and opened his mouth to speak, she held up a hand. "You fight like a child, even with my advice. Every night, you must heal your hands because you broke them several times, and you are more of a liability than any form of help for me."

He squinted at her. "What do you propose?"

…

"So, Sephiroth here wants a weapon?" Rodin placed the glass onto the counter, looking at the pair with a crooked smile.

"I would certainly prefer it." Bayonetta crossed her arms. "And mortal toys are not going to be able to handle him."

Sephiroth looked at her in confusion, then back to Rodin. He shrugged at the bartender, and gestured for him to continue.

"Well, I have a massive backlog of my babies, if you want to have a look." He pressed a concealed button and the bar split aside to reveal a weapons rack. Whips, guns, missile launchers and swords of all shapes and sizes adorned it. Bayonetta licked her lips, relishing the view. Sephiroth was overwhelmed, but somewhat unimpressed.

"Feel free to test some of these babies out. Some have been thirsting for action for more than a millennium." Rodin smiled.

"Is this all?" Sephiroth asked the owner. Rodin hesitated in his answer but replied anyway.

"There is one weapon that is not for show, or for sale." He said slowly. "It was made using an injured Infernal that was dying from missing the key component to its pitiful existence. It hungers for souls, trying to find the one it lost. It's claimed far too many potential customers for it to be of a useful weapon for me or a potential customer."

Sephiroth's body jerked up, then he stared intensely at Rodin. "Show me."

"Look buddy, I just told you-"

" **Show me**." The voice that came from his lips was more demonic than normal. Bayonetta looked at Rodin with curiosity, to see his reaction.

"Alright, but if your soul goes into the sword, you can't blame me." Rodin walked behind the newly revealed wall and disappeared. She immediately turned to face him.

"What the fuck was that all about?" She hissed. "You can't go around intimidating Rodin, of all fucking people."

Sephiroth's eyes were glowing. " **I sense something familiar about this blade**." He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the demonic influence. "Or rather, the Infernal inside me does."

"You think that might be the Infernal's soul?" She asked.

"I think it might be too." Rodin returned, holding a long, black case. "If my hunch is correct, this blade might suit you more than anything I could make from scratch."

He placed the case onto the counter and gestured for Sephiroth to open it. Unclipping each latch individually, he lifted the lifted the lid.

Inside was a long katana. It was simple in design, no fancy decorations or engraved designs. The hilt was wrapped in black leather, and the blade itself seemed to hum with a powerful energy, which was reacting to the presence of the winged man. Sephiroth held his hand over it, hesitating to pick it up.

"Go on." Rodin nodded with encouragement. "The worst that could happen, theoretically, is your soul being dragged in, and I have to repack shop."

"That's an encouraging thought." She laughed, but then grew a bit serious. "Come on, we don't have all day. Either you do or you don't."

Giving the blade a look of intensity that even Bayonetta began to worry about, he picked up the blade and immediately started studying it.

"It's perfect." He said, and she huffed in annoyance.

"All of that for nothing?" She threw her hands up in the air. "Surely there would've been something from all of this needless tension you created."

He shrugged. Still continuing to look at the blade, he noticed Rodin giving him a strange look.

"What's the deal?" The bartender asked. "You're gonna take it or what?"

Sephiroth's eyes went wide. He turned to Bayonetta and gave her a pleading look.

"Don't ask me." She shook her head. "Rodin will ask for all my halo's and more."

"I'll tell you what." Rodin grabbed the empty case. "You can keep that until this is all over, and then you can give it back."

Sephiroth gave him a look of distrust. "What is the catch?"

Rodin smiled. "You catch on quick." He suddenly reached over the counter and grabbed the winged man by the collar and pulled him forward. "You can't break it. Any nick, dent or scratch, and I'll make you the biggest bitch that any Infernal has ever dreamed of having. I'm sick of having my babies broken by Bayonetta here, and I don't want her habits passed onto you. Now, I'm feeling nice, so you can have this one loaned for free. One scratch!" He finished with the threat, glaring into the terrified Sephiroth's eyes.

He gulped and nodded.

"Good." Rodin let him go and turned around, closing his weapons shop. "Now, I'm sure you two have somewhere better to be. I'm certain your Infernal partner's and Lagunan-"

He turned to find them both gone.

"Dammit! You there! Her tab is on you!"

…

Sephiroth examined the blade closely as they approached the doorway. "I recognise the Infernal in here, and it recognises me, or rather the soul inside me does."

"That's a good sign, I'd wager." Bayonetta replied, glancing at the surroundings. "Have you ever had any practice with a weapon, or a katana at that?"

"No." His reply was meek. She laughed at it.

"Well, luckily for you, I know my way around a blade." She gave him a look over. "Although I think Jormungandr's Staff is not the best place to train nor practice."

He looked back at the crumbing tower they had just ascended, using witch walk for her and leaping madly from falling staircases for him. "I do believe so. But let's continue on and hope that literally nothing is outside that door."

He was wrong. There was something outside of the door.

"Where did this bloody storm come from?" Bayonetta asked as they exited the tower. "We left from the Gates in perfect daylight!"

Sephiroth tensed as he recognised something in the air. "We should leave."

"To where?" She turned to him. "I'm not braving that tower again, and the way forward is only blocked by a small amount of wind and rain, which if I remember correctly, doesn't bother the big and tough Sephiroth?"

He looked at her with wide eyes, as if he recognised it. "This storm isn't natural."

Then it all went to hell.

The tower behind them exploded as an Angel appeared. It was a giant, humanoid figure, with no legs, its head more central to the chest than anything else. Its arms were held onto its torso with beams of energy passing through two rings, and its hands were replaced with four tube-like fingers on each arm.

" _DONASDOGAMA!"_ It screamed in Enochian, and the storm's intensity increased hundred-fold. The bridge ahead of the pair tore itself apart, and parts of it began to fly around wildly.

"Run!" Sephiroth grabbed her hand and dragged her forward, towards the bridge. She pulled her hand out of his but continued to run forward. Activating her witch time, she leaped from part to part, as he launched himself through the sky, destroying the rocks and stone with wild swings of the katana. Her mind whirled at the durability and sharpness of the blade, mentally confirming that the blade wasn't at all like any mortal blade she had seen.

They eventually made it to a small tower-like structure, which to both seemed more like a battle arena than anything else. Atop the small ring surround the platform stood a very familiar red-clad woman.

"… _understand that the Father's goals are your own. But why must you interfere?_ " The Angel asked Jeanne as it floated in front of her. " _Why must you slay our forces that have been sent to capture her_?"

"The only one's meddling is your hapless minions. We will do it my way, not yours!" Jeanne replied, obviously annoyed with the Lagunan. "Tell the Father that your assistance is not required, and I will find her, the experiment and the little one, and replace them back to where they are supposed to be."

The angel stared at her in disapproval. " _Your arrogance disgusts me. Tell the Father he needs to work on you a bit more._ " It glanced over her shoulder and smirked. " _If my assistance is not required, I will leave you be."_

It disappeared into a portal, returning to Paradiso. Jeanne stiffened as she sensed something behind her and turned to face the pair.

"Why hello there." She greeted with a fake smile. "I suppose you being here now means you've had a second wind."

"I have had no second winds, if you're following that train of thought." Bayonetta shrugged as Sephiroth stiffened. "However, I can't help but notice that you, an Umbran Witch, is working directly with your enemies."

"That is none of your business!" Jeanne snapped, then turned her attention to her companion. "And you! Why are you still here?"

"That's none of your business, witch!" He growled back, brandishing the katana.

"Oh my…" Jeanne began to laugh uncontrollably. "Someone got the experiment a toy…"

Sephiroth growled gutturally, then launched himself at her. She sidestepped, faking a yawn and watched with apathy as he plummeted off the tower. Bayonetta ran to the window-like area and peered over it, trying to find the falling man. He had landed on another tower below and was looking back up at her, seemingly alright.

"Never fight angry." Jeanne smiled above her. "Wasn't that something you said?"

Bayonetta didn't answer. Jeanne snapped her fingers and a horde of Affinities appeared and flew towards him. Attempting to leap out after them, she was stopped by Jeanne's heels and guns firing at her face as she kicked at her.

"Going somewhere?" Jeanne taunted. "We are going to dance first, and then you might be able to go dance with it."

"It's a him." Bayonetta snarled. "And be him an idiot, he is Sephiroth. You do best to remember that."

"Already attached to it?" Jeanne's eyes hardened. "Am I that replaceable?"

"I don't even know who you are, let alone why you care about my relationship with some random stray I found on the streets." She replied, drawing herself into her stance. "Now, get out of my way."

"Make me." The witch in red smirked, drawing herself into hers.

The pair launched themselves at each other. They were perfectly matched; for every kick, punch, shot or wicked weave one threw out, the other had a counter. Jeanne fought exactly as she did, chaining various punches and kicks, throwing out a pink and white fist or boot to try and catch her unawares. She wasn't successful, much to the annoyance of the platinum; Bayonetta had noticed the former and was beginning to use it to her advantage, leading the other witch into certain attacks that even Sephiroth would've seen coming.

Sidestepping another wicked punch from her opponent, she swung her elbow and caught Jeanne in the side of the ribs. Pushing her to the left, she glanced to the right and saw a piece of the bridge flying towards them. Rolling her eyes, she leaped from the platform and activated her witchwalk, landing onto the bridge. Briefly feeling nausea from the sudden and constant disorientation, she saw Jeanne leaping onto it after her. Firing a few bullets in her direction, Bayonetta strafed to the side, trying to close the gap discreetly. The witch in red was having none of that, however, and simply glided across to meet her, ending with a giant twisting punch. Flipping backwards and away from the attack, she sent a fist from Madama Butterfly after her, catching the witch in the legs and sending her out of witchwalk range from the stone.

Jeanne, however, landed on a nearby outcrop, and turned to face her. She seemed to be studying her, and Bayonetta prepared for the worst as she stood on her stone, circling the witch.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" She asked, smirking slightly. "Afraid of your memories? Your past?"

"Afraid?" Bayonetta brushed it off. "Me?"

"Your memories will tell you that you should be!" Jeanne snapped at her.

"The only thing I'm afraid of right now is my annoyance towards my little companion." She tilted her head. "And possibly cockroaches."

"This is still a waste of time!" Jeanne screamed, then glared at the witch in black. "You're still not ready!"

Turning away, she jumped, transformed into a bird and flew off into the distance.

Bayonetta blinked. Could she do that?

Letting witchwalk fade, she fell from the stone and let the image of a bird will her mind, and she willed it to be her. Her body disappeared in a flutter of bats, then reformed into a crow. Flying onto the outcrop, she retransformed back into a human.

"Oh my…" She looked at her hands in amazement. "That was bloody amazing."

Hearing battle in the distance, she felt her ire grow again. "Looks like we have to pick up our 'darling'." She said in annoyance to herself, then turned and flew down to the other arena she saw earlier.

He was doing fine, for someone who had to learn a new weapon or perish. He was extremely unbalanced, and as before, overcommitted to everything. His strokes were cleaving through Affinity after Affinity, yes, but he was nearly tumbling over after them.

Landing on the edge of the arena, she retransformed to a human and began to idly play with one of her weapons. Noticing flashes of orange from the corner of her eye, she returned her attention to the battle.

His magic power had increased tremendously. What used to be sparks of fire or small thunderbolts were now raging infernos and lightning storms. _The Infernal must be augmenting his power_ , she reasoned to herself. Or he had somehow held back throughout the city of Vigrid and the clash with Fortitudo, which didn't make any sense.

He closed his palm and launched a literal meteorite at one of the Affinities, obliterating it. Her eyes widened in surprise, and a small shiver went up her spine. That was a spell she could only ever dream about casting, and it was a Lagunan power, gifted to the Lumen in the tales of the two clans that she had read.

Just how did he do that?

However, he had failed to notice a single surviving Affinity behind him, and it was poised to strike. Rolling her eyes at his inattentiveness, she aimed and fired the Scarborough Fair at its head, killing it. He tensed at the gunshot, turned and instantly relaxed as he saw her.

Then he went pale at the intensity of the glare she was sending his way.


	8. Chapter 7: The Child

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything here, except maybe the plotline._

Bayonetta shifted around on her seat on the walls of the arena and continued to glare down at the winged man, who had the sense to look ashamed of himself.

"Now, what did I tell you?" She scolded. "What was the one rule I made sure to tell you?"

"…Never fight angry…" He replied meekly.

"Exactly!" She clapped her hands sarcastically. "Never fight angry! Now, what did you just do?"

He didn't answer, opting to look away in shame. She took that as an invite to continue. "Why do you always try to fuck everything up? I always have to clean up your messes, and you always seem to embarrass me in front of her."

He opted to stay silent. She jumped off the edge and approached him. Putting one hand on hand on her hip, she looked at him with disappointment. "You're honestly more trouble than you are worth sometimes."

"I can leave." Sephiroth mumbled. "I don't have to be with you, and you can rid yourself of me."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic." Bayonetta rolled her eyes. "I didn't say I was going to get rid of you yet." She pushed his chest with the butt of her gun and lifted his chin with it. "All you need to do is follow my instructions, and maybe you might become competent enough to not be an embarrassment."

He looked at her with surprise. "…but why?"

"I am nice sometimes, Darling. You just have to stay on my good side." She turned away and gestured for him to follow. "And you still are, so don't press your luck."

…

The pair found themselves outside of another ancient building, this time it was locked behind a massive iron gate. Mortals were milling about in their realm as they stood there, completely oblivious to the two or to the significance of the ruins.

"A simple gate." Bayonetta gave it a look of apathy. "They think they can stop me with a simple gate?"

Sephiroth stayed silent, as to not annoy or disturb her. He knew he was on a fine line as it was, and he particularly didn't want to make the more powerful of the two turn on him.

Summoning a fist from a portal, she punched through the gate and sent it flying into the door behind it. The mortal's fled at the seemingly supernatural event, and Sephiroth reflected that it was, to their point of view.

"Well?" She turned to him as they stepped through the archway and into a wide corridor. "Do you want to learn or what?"

At first, he was surprised that she was still willing to teach him, but he remembered that she still did owe him lessons, and he did owe to her these lessons as well. He nodded at her and gripped the katana tightly.

She rolled her eyes. "For starters, you're going to learn how to dismiss that sword. You simply can't be carrying it around all the time."

"I can dismiss this sword?" He looked at her in confusion. "Dismissing as in...?"

"Let me see you for a second." Her eyes glowed purple, then returned to their normal grey. "As I thought. You're technically bound to an Infernal."

"What?!" He started in surprise, putting his free hand onto his chest. "But how?"

"Whoever was the Umbran half of you never lost their soul; rather, it was trapped inside their body. I can sense them inside you as well, meaning you can probably channel some of their powers." Bayonetta suddenly realised the implication. "Which is bloody perfect for me."

"Some of their powers?" He asked, looking at his left hand in confusion. "Which ones?"

"Time to experiment!" She turned away for a couple of seconds, then turned back. "Now, imagine you have a giant invisible box, and then put your sword into it!"

Concentrating, he did that and simply watched as the katana disappeared into thin air. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his eyes flickered over to hers. "Wait, what did you get me to do?"

"As part of your contract you can store items in Inferno, in the realm of the Infernal you are contracted to." She summoned one of her guns and began to spin it lazily on one finger. "To get it back, all you have to do is ask nicely."

"Right." He closed his eyes and reached out. _Uhh, hey. Can I have my sword back?_

To his surprise, something answered back. _It's about fucking time you realised you can call upon me. I have been sitting here for fucking twenty years, and not a single peep! Of course, you can have your sword back!_

 _Really?_ He was rather sceptical at how easy it was appearing. _There is no catch, no gimmick?_

 _That accursed Father trapped Rosa's soul into her own body and promised me a soul worthier of me than her. I've been waiting for five hundred years to get this soul, and since you're the only one that managed to make it to the whole converse-with-your-inner-demon thing, and I am done with being the evil demoness, you can utilise what you can scot-free!_ The Infernal replied, obviously in a state of relief? Happiness? Sephiroth wasn't sure what to call it.

 _That's reassuring._ He smiled to himself. _Just, who are you?_

 _I am Madama Khepri, the Mistress and Protector of Time!_ The Infernal announced with pride. _And you will do well to remember that!_

The katana reappeared in his hand. Nodding in approval, she gestured to him.

"Who is your patron Infernal?" She queried.

"Madama Khepri." He answered, then added as an afterthought: "Are all Infernal's females?"

She laughed at his response. "Khepri is one of the nicer Infernal's out there; I'd say you lucked out." She continued to twirl her gun on her finger. "Only the strongest Infernals are female."

He nodded in understanding and redeposited the katana back into Inferno.

"Now, let's spar." She summoned her other gun and took a stance. "I have been itching for some true competition at my level."

His eyes widened, and the katana reappeared in a flash. "We aren't going to figure out what the extent of my contract is?"

She fluttered her eyelashes. "What better way than to throw you into the deep end? Come, I want you to try to satisfy me."

Sephiroth swung the blade until it was held at his front, angled down and towards her. Bayonetta immediately frowned and dropped her stance.

"You're holding a dexterous weapon like a power-based one." She stepped forward. "You look like you're about to commit to some sort of swing that puts every ounce of strength behind you, aren't you?"

"Yes...?" He admitted uneasily. He supposed that she was trained to do that, but that quickly and to that accuracy?

"You have a long, thin blade. What can you do with a long thin blade?" She asked rhetorically. "You can be as nimble as a needle, as precise as a laser and as quick as the wind." Grabbing the hilt, she guided it to his shoulder, where he held it off to the side, perpendicular to his body. Turning his body as well, she made him stand parallel to his blade, but perpendicular to her. "There. How does that feel?"

He swung the katana a few times, testing the position. "Wow…"

"I do know my stuff, darling." She smiled and jumped back. "Now, shall we dance?"

Sephiroth wasted no time and thrusted at her. _A good choice from his position._ she thought as she twisted around the blade. _But ultimately, predictable._ Elbowing the blade into the ground, she thrusted her palm out and pushed him back, sending him flying onto his behind. He landed with a grunt of pain and immediately conceded the spar, if you could call it that, to her.

"Now, how did I beat you?" She asked, extending a hand to him.

"I was too predictable?" He answered sheepishly, accepted her hand and letting her pull him up.

"Yes. You need to begin a battle the same way you can finish it. Anything else will let your opponent realise your intentions." She stood back and retook her stance. "Now, surely you can go a second round?"

He retook his stance as well and began to circle around her. Following suite, she began to think about what his first move could be. A physical attack seemed unlikely, given he had just tried that, but a magical attack seemed unlikely as well, given how long he took to cast anything.

She didn't expect a rock to slam into the back of her head. Stumbling forward from the impact, she realised that he was now swinging the katana in a deadly arc at her. Dipping under it, she tried to slam a gun into his stomach. He had anticipated the move, and his hand had left his sword to intercept hers. Hauling her off her feet, her threw her to the side.

Adjusting to her landing, she activated witch walk and began running on the wall, shooting bullets at him. Deflecting them with the katana, he suddenly swung it in an arc, a beam of energy sliding off the blade and aimed at the wall in front of her. Witchtime activated, she weaved her way through the explosion. Reverting time to normal, she noticed more beams flying at her.

"Great." She whispered to herself, pride filling her bosom. "He is learning."

Jumping from the wall, she began to advance towards him, slipping and sliding under the beams. He splayed his other fist, and a firestorm began to weave itself around it. Eyes widening, she summoned a boot from Butterfly to squash him. He cursed and leaped to the side, the spell fading. Sending more wicked weaves at him, she began to close the distance. 10 metres. 5 metres.

He caught and pushed aside a wicked punch and began to advance to meet her, swinging the katana in wide, fast arcs. Leaping back to avoid them, her eyes widened yet again.

 _Just how strong can he be?_

She decided to end it. Slipping under his swing, she swung her legs out, tripping him over. Gracefully, she transitioned into a straddling position him and pointed the Scarborough Fair directly at his face.

"I win." She said smugly. He sighed in frustration but conceded, unsummoning the blade. She let her guns fall back into Inferno and wiped the look from her face.

"What did that teach me?" He asked, sounding hurt. Bayonetta was about to reprimand him, but realised that from his point of view, he didn't learn anything at all.

"You learnt a stance and style better suited to you." She said as she stood up from his chest. "And your power is simply astounding. Given a few months of training, you could probably give me a proper challenge in a fair duel."

His eyes squinted. "You beat me twice, both without much effort, yet I could give you a challenge? In a few months?"

"You improved from falling over yourself to being able to keep with a much higher trained individual for two minutes." She held out a hand again. "Not many people can say that."

Sephiroth stood up, accepted her hand for a second time. "I guess…"

"Cheer up Sephy." She smiled at him as he flinched from the nickname. "It's not all doom and gloom."

"It's hard to believe that I'll be able to fight the likes of you in two months, when you toyed around with me." He argued. "Don't say you didn't, because you ended the fight in one move."

"Yes, at the end I was, but I needed to correctly judge your abilities." Bayonetta said as they walked into an open courtyard, with a long bridge in front of them and a bridge above them. "You started the fight correctly, then began to use a power that you knew would force me onto the back foot. What even was that?"

"The Infernal does has a mind of its own, and it keeps feeding me new techniques." He answered as they crossed the bridge. "Like that one."

"So, you have a lot of teachers?" She smiled. "That's honestly… reassuring. Ask your patron about the extent of your contract, since it seems it might be not necessary."

 _What powers can I use?_ He mentally projected to his contracted Infernal.

 _Not many, I'd believe. Anything more than item storage would probably not work or invite other Infernal's at your soul._ Khepri answered, much to his disappointment. _Which is mine, by the way. However, you have immense potential; I do not foresee this contracted necessarily adding much to your repertoire._

"Where did you learn that meteor power you displayed back at Jormungandr's Staff?" Her voice interrupted his mental conversation. "That's a Lagunan power."

"There is also an Angel inside of me, remember that?" He tapped the side of his head. "That's also teaching me stuff, apparently in preparation for something."

"Good on it." She patted his head. "Now, it's probably not too wise to let yourself too open to those two in you, since I don't want to clean up the mess you'll inevitably leave behind."

"Got it. What about Madama Khepri?" He asked as they turned a corner. "Is she all good to go ahead and converse with?"

"Yes!" She answered a bit too fast for his liking. "For starters, she doesn't need to claim your soul, since it's already hers, and she can teach you a bit more about magic than I bloody can."

 _The Witch is right._ Khepri added. _I can teach you nearly infinite spells, and they will help you slay angels for me and you as well!_

"There's too many voices." He pinched his nose in frustration. "We need to work out some sort of routine that will allow me to maximise learning."

"Routines?" She laughed. "What do you think this is? School? Fuck off with that; we learn at my pace or you don't learn at all, Darling."

The pair continued to walk in silence, until Sephiroth's head shot up.

"Is that…" Sephiroth frowned as he noticed a familiar presence in the mortal realm. Bayonetta looked at him with curiosity, then recognised it too.

"How did she get here?" She remarked, then ran in the direction it was pulling her, Sephiroth close behind. Running over a bridge they had seen earlier, they found a most peculiar sight in Purgatorio.

The small girl from Vigrid was sitting in a large, circular room. She was crying and was surrounded by Affinities and an Applaud, all standing aggressively over her, like she was their prisoner.

" _Inform the Father the child has been found._ " The Applaud ordered the surrounding angels. Sephiroth looked at the group with confusion, whilst Bayonetta looked at him in confusion.

"You don't have a clue what this is about?" She asked, and he shook his head as he turned to face her.

"Not one." He confirmed. "What could he want with a little girl? And how did she get into Purgatorio?"

"Let's find out." Bayonetta stepped forward. "Hello boys! What are you all up to?"

The Applaud turned and growled at her. " _The witch! And the experiment too. Why must you continue to meddle in the affairs of Paradiso?"_

"My, my..." She walked towards the girl. "It looks like you're picking on this little one. Don't you all have something better to do?"

The angels stood in front of her, blocking her path. " _You will not meddle this time, witch._ "

Bayonetta grinned at them. Sephiroth tensed.

"It seems you've been cheating on me." She tilted her head to the side. "I'm not one to play saviour, but if you want to pick on someone, please do with your own size." She gestured to the man standing beside her. "And he might be small, but he is that."

Sephiroth looked at her in confusion and shock. "What!?"

The Applaud pointed at the pair, running out of any goodwill it had left.

" _Get them!_ "

Sephiroth wasted no time. Dashing passed her, he slashed through one Affinity and engaged another. Bayonetta rolled her eyes at his impatience, but joined in, noting that her lesson was sticking into his mind this time. Roundhouse kicking one Affinity to the side, she taunted the Applaud.

"You want to touch me?" She placed her hands behind her head and took a suggestive pose. "Come and get me!"

The Applaud screamed at her, falling for her bait. Slamming the ground in fury with its staff, she felt the ground beneath her heat up. Cartwheeling backwards, she saw a pillar of flame erupt from where she was standing. Smiling in a teasing fashion, she grabbed the torso of a severed Affinity and launched it at the Applaud. Sending it into the wall, she watched it die from the impact. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sephiroth fighting as a whirlwind of flame, metal and feathers, as both angels and his own flew through the sky. Appreciating that he was learning, albeit on the fly, she took a few seconds to take in the colourful scene.

She heard a cry from behind her. Turning abruptly, she saw a lone Affinity grabbing the girl. Taking a step forward, she made to engage it. However, a cry from Sephiroth warned her from behind, and she turned to see a stave hit her in the face.

…

Sephiroth watched with horror as his mentor crumpled, obviously knocked out. Turning his attention back to the Affinities, he began to cleave his way to the two other humans in the room. Pushing them aside telekinetically, he hurled the katana and impaled the Affinity carrying the girl out. Freeing herself, the child ran to the door and opened it, slipping outside and out of the unfolding battle.

 _Use this…_ The Lagunan whispered to him, as an incantation appeared in front of him. _It will keep her safe…_

 _Then use this!_ Madama Khepri then shunted a spell to the forefront of his mind. _Destroy the angels for me!_

Grunting with pain, he felt the beginnings of a headache form. Nevertheless, he whispered the spell under his breathe.

"Ne Olapireta En Zorge." He gestured towards Bayonetta, and a small barrier made from light appeared around her, stopping the Affinity from dealing the killing blow to her as it bounced harmlessly off it. Satisfied with her safety for now, he turned his attention to the second spell.

"TELOAH ERM MAELPEREJI DOALIM!" He shouted and splayed his hand open. A small green light erupted from hit, and then disappeared.

"That was it?" Sephiroth stared at the spot it had disappeared from in confusion. The Affinities did as well, perturbed by the spells incantation and the lack of anything happening. "What a waste of time…"

Then the world went green, and magical energy coursed throughout the room, burning and ripping through the Affinities, killing them all instantly. Such was the power of the spell that it burnt through the barrier he had erected around Bayonetta. Letting the spell end, he sighed in exhaustion and mentally apologised to his patron for insulting her spell.

 _It is fine, mortal._ Khepri answered. _It's not every day that spell is used, or even cast successfully. You still have my respect, for now._

A noise at the door drew his attention back to reality. The girl was pushing the door open, her eyes transfixed on the sleeping Bayonetta.

Kneeling beside her, her quickly checked for any injuries. Satisfied that she wasn't brain scrambled, he cast a light healing spell to make sure she didn't wake up with a headache. Walking back to a wall, he watched the girl walk to and kneel in front of her, content with just waiting it out.

…

" _Fly me to the Moon,  
Let me play among the stars.  
Let me see what spring is like on  
A-Jupiter and Mars.  
In other words, hold my hand.  
In other words, baby, kiss me._

 _Fill my heart with song, and let me sing for ever more.  
You are all I long for  
All I worship and adore.  
In other words, please be true.  
In other words, I love you."_

Bayonetta awoke. Keeping her eyes closed, she reflected on the words that had rang through her head. She certainly didn't recognise the song, nor any of the lyrics. She did, somewhat recognise the voice that was singing it.

"Was I singing?" Bayonetta murmured to herself as she lay there.

"No." Sephiroth's voice sounded amused. "You were certainly not."

Her eyes opened to see a face of a small girl centimetres in front of her. She froze. The girl froze. They stared at each other, both scrutinizing and trying to figure out just who the other was. It seemed that she concluded first.

"Mummy?" The girl asked. Bayonetta blinked. Then sprang to her feet in shock. A large smile grew on the girl, small, pearly white teeth shining through. "Mummy!"

"Whoa! Hold up!" She held her hands up in defence as the girl looked at her in puzzlement, and Sephiroth began laughing in the background. "I am not your mother!"

"Yes you are, Mummy!" The girl objected. "Daddy said you would be here soon, and you are here!"

"Daddy?" She gave the statement more than a second of thought. "Given your age, I can certainly say you aren't mine. No man was lucky enough to get me that year."

"Where have you been, Mummy?" The girl ignored her and looked at her expectantly.

"I am not your mother!" She repeated herself, adding an edge to her tone. The girl deflated, then looked away briefly.

"But…" Her lip was trembling. "Mummy…"

"What the…" Bayonetta gave Sephiroth a death glare. "You. Shut up."

"This is too much…" Sephiroth smirked, trying to quell his laughter. "Mother."

The girl seemingly noticed that there was a third person in the room. She turned and scrutinized the winged man, then also seemingly came to another conclusion.

"Bubby!" She started, her happiness growing tenfold. "Bubby is here!"

"Bubby?" Sephiroth looked at her in confusion, then looked up at Bayonetta. "What is a Bubby?"

Bayonetta shrugged as the girl answered. "Bubby is Bubby. Daddy said you would be here with Mummy to pick me up!"

Sephiroth pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "That answered nothing."

Bayonetta walked next to him and peered down at the girl. She was wearing a patchwork dress, slippers, glasses that were too big for her face and was carrying a beaten, worn doll of a cat. "What is your name, little one?"

"Cereza." The girl answered. "Don't you remember, Mummy?"

"No, because, for the last time, I am not your mother!" Bayonetta half yelled at her. Tears began to well up in Cereza's eyes and began to fall.

"Mummy doesn't love me anymore…" She whispered as she cried. Sephiroth broke well before cracks had started to form on the witch's face and kneeled to comfort her. Instead, Bayonetta plucked the child off the ground and held her with one hand, looking at her with repulsion.

"Look here, little one." She began. "There's two things I absolutely despise in this world; cockroaches and crying babies." She looked to the side and frowned. "Although I suppose a crying baby cockroach would be truly horrifying. But besides, don't you dare cry, or you will be crying alone. Got it?"

"Yes mummy." Cereza said as she tried to contain her tears. Bayonetta sighed in frustration and let her go, Sephiroth catching her. Holding the child to himself, he frowned in disappointment at her.

"What?" Bayonetta rolled her eyes. "Come, we need to reach the airport."

"At least bubby remembers me." Cereza said petulantly as she turned to begin walking out.

"I certainly don't." Sephiroth shook his head at the witch's antics.

"She will be dropped off at the authorities there." She announced. "So don't get too attached to the little one."

He nodded at her back. "Sounds fair to me."

…

The strange trio ran into a portal, as to which neither adult could identify immediately.

"Do we have to?" Sephiroth asked, shifting Cereza around slightly. "I mean, it is a dead end, but this looks obviously like a trap for us."

"While you are correct that we don't have to, it seems this portal has been active for some time." She replied, studying the architecture intently. "Oh, joy."

"Hmmm?" He peered over her shoulder, and Cereza tried to as well.

"This is a portal to Paradiso." She turned back. "It is quite obviously a trap."

"I guess we spring it?" He looked at her in worry.

"Don't worry; whatever is on the other side is going to be a piece of cake." She smiled and turned back to the portal. "Come along now."

…

As he stepped into the realm of the divine, Sephiroth immediately felt more refreshed, both physically and mentally. The realm could not be described as anything less than breathtakingly beautiful, and he was ready to just sit down and never leave.

"Hey!" Bayonetta slapped him out of his wonder. "That's the problem with Paradiso; it's one giant fucking spiderweb, ready to entangle you. Don't give into its temptation."

Eyes widening, he shook his head vigorously, cleansing his head of the pull. Unfortunately, Cereza was openly gaping at the sight.

"Mummy, this place is so cool!" The girl said from his arms. "Why did we never visit this place before?"

Bayonetta ignored her, leading the two further into Paradiso.

"You know, you could at least pretend to be nice to her." Sephiroth said at her back.

"Nice?" She turned back to him and glared. "You want me to be nice to this… child that thinks I'm its mother?"

"Yes?" He looked back in confusion. "At worst, you're the child's mother, and at best it's a lost kid that has mistaken you for 'Mummy'."

"Don't talk to me until we lose it." She turned away. "You obviously don't understand, 'Bubby'."

"But why does it matter?" He was confused.

"Because, I don't have the time or patience to deal with children. She is nothing but an added burden, like you are now becoming." She snapped back. "I think I'm beginning to realise that bringing you along was the stupidest idea I've had yet."

That hurt him. "Fine then! I'll make my own way then." He stopped and looked around for another path. Bayonetta whirled around, fury in her eye.

"I'd certainly like to see you try." She growled. "Take the fucking child with you too. Neither of you belong here; you will both just slow me down!"

"I will!"

Cereza buried herself into his arms, trying to get out of the way of the arguing adults.

"Good!" She turned for the final time and began to storm off. "Good fucking riddance to both of you! Useless garbage!"

He felt the words hit him like a tonne of bricks. Deflating, he could only watch as Bayonetta stormed off and away from the pair.

"Bubby?" Cereza sniffled. "What's wrong with Mummy?"

"I don't know, little one." He answered, voice shaking. "Come along, we'll find Daddy and he'll be able to explain to Mummy the problem."

"OK…"

…

Bayonetta felt her fury engulf and envelope her body. How dare he. How dare he! He was merely an annoyance and a liability to her the whole time. He didn't need to be with her. Especially if he was going to be friendly with that Auditio-forsaken girl. He could go with her and die for all she cared. There had been enough interruptions on her way to Ithavoll as it was; this was the final straw.

Her anger faded as she continued, until she couldn't quite remember what she was angry about, or why she was angry. Shrugging to herself, she continued onwards until a white flash of light in the distance distracted her.

Frowning, she tried to pinpoint the light again. She found it, a small, white, gold and green female figure running to the left. Vaguely recognising the angel, she pulled her journal out and skimmed it, looking for their entry in it. She found it, and began to read. Her eyes widened at the ed of the second paragraph, her cheeks went pale, and her stomach dropped. Dropping the book back into inferno, she ran after the angel.

She had never been angry; it was influenced onto her. She had abandoned him and the little one to a fate worse than death.

…

Sephiroth had not made it far when the angels came. Waves of Affinities harassed him, and he was forced to utilise the spell he had been taught several times over, and the constant use was beginning to take a toll on him. Cereza had been terrified the whole time, and he had tried his best to keep her in high spirits.

He still didn't know why Bayonetta was so against the girl. He supposed that she was way out of her element, but to reject the girl as fast as she did, and then leave them both when he tried to show emotion to her? Something didn't quite add up, but if that was the person she was, then he didn't want to know her.

His body was also hell. The angelic side had nothing but praise and whispers of encouragement to stay in Paradiso, whereas his demonic side had told him to leave and never come back. Thus, the war for dominance had restarted, and it was beginning to become more than an annoyance. The pain was beginning to creep up on him, and he was barely able to keep himself on a straight path, let alone standing straight up.

A small clearing was up ahead, followed by a corridor to a building. Sighing with relief, he continued forward.

"Look Cereza, it's some shelter." He smiled to her, trying not to show his inner turmoil to her. "And maybe a way out."

"Can we rest soon, Bubby?" Cereza trembled in his arms. "I'm tired."

"Once we get out of this place, we can." He walked through the clearing and entered the corridor. Looking ahead, he saw a sight he didn't expect to see.

Bayonetta was ahead of them, sitting on a rock. She looked both sad and pensive, and seemed to be deep in thought. Recognising the pair, she gave them a wave of acknowledgement.

"Sephiroth." She stood up and walked towards the pair. "You look horrible."

"No thanks to you." He replied, stating the truth gruffly, his eyes glowing slightly in anger. "What do you want?"

"Look, we want to apologise." She started. "We didn't treat you fairly-"

"Damn right you didn't!" He interrupted her, his eyes shining bright gold as he did. "But I'm more worried about Cereza here, and how you've treated her!"

"The little one was a bit surprising, but we think we should be a bit easier on her." Bayonetta replied, smiling at the shy and terrified girl. "We might not be your Mummy, but we can try to be."

Sephiroth frowned, recognising that something was wrong with her statement, but couldn't figure out where. Or why.

"Come, this portal leads to the Vigrid airport, and transport to Isla Del Sol." She gestured to him, turning around. "We will take us there."

Something was wrong, and he knew it. He just didn't care enough to investigate further.

"Ooh, so you actually managed to duplicate me. Impressive, most impressive." A familiar voice from behind them said. "I do like that bit with tampering with my emotions. That was quite the trick you pulled off."

The two adults turned, one in surprise and the other in massive confusion. Standing behind them was…

Bayonetta.

"What?" Sephiroth turned and looked at the Bayonetta standing beside him, and then back at the one standing at the entrance. "What the hell?"

"Joy's." The one at the entrance stepped forward. "They are the second highest ranked Lagunan, to only the Audito. Masters of deceit and disguise, they tend to transform into their enemies to fool them, and strike undetected. The ultimate assassin. Also, very capable of tampering around with emotions."

"Only a Joy would say that." The Bayonetta to his left took Cereza out of his arms. "To try and lull their enemy into a false sense of security."

"That would be true, if you were the real me." The walking Bayonetta stopped and put a hand onto her hip. "Now, hand over the child and let my friend go, and maybe I won't send you to Inferno when I defeat you."

"Like we would hand over the little one and the experiment to you!" She growled in response. "And doom them to Paradiso!"

The other simply tapped her upper lip. Sephiroth frowned, then squinted at her and turned to the one on his left. Eyes widening, he realised his error.

The one on his left had no beauty mark. It had also repeatedly referred to itself as we, and him as the experiment.

Something Bayonetta did not do, or at least did not verbalise.

"Now, shall we dance?" The fake Bayonetta smiled daggers at the real one. "We want to settle this."

"Of course." Bayonetta winked at Cereza, who nodded back. Biting the arm of the fake, she jumped out of its arms and ran towards the portal.

"Wait for us, little one!" She called as she ran through the portal.

…

Luka was walking towards Vigrid airport, minding his own business with his thoughts focusing on how to expose Bayonetta and that monster she was with, when he saw a confusing sight.

A small girl, wearing what could be only described as a dress from a millennium ago and holding a small, beaten toy cat, was watching a circular sculpture of art with intensity that surprised even him. He had a taste for the arts, but certainly not that deep or at that age.

"Hello there!" He greeted the girl, kneeling next to her. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"Hi!" The girl turned and smiled at him. "I'm waiting for Mummy!"

"You're waiting for your Mummy?" He asked, glancing at the art. "Where is she?"

"She's in there, with Bubby." She pointed at the sculpture. "Can't you see?"

"Uhhh." He wracked his mind. There was something fundamentally wrong with this child, he assumed. "What is your name?"

"Cereza." The name even sounded antique.

"Well, Cerezita." Luka snapped his fingers and a lollipop appeared in his hand. "I'm Luka, and I'll wait here with you for Mummy, OK?"

The child accepted the candy quickly. "Thank you, Mister Luka."

Thirty minutes, he figured. Thirty minutes of giving this child his time, then he would drop her off at the authorities.

…

"You will pay for that witch!" The fake Bayonetta hissed. " _The Father needed that!_ "

"Another thing, oh most Joyous." Bayonetta smiled as Sephiroth stepped backwards. "I don't apologise so easily."

Shedding its disguise, the Joy revealed itself. White marble skin, a slim and curvaceous figure, long braids of hair and a strange hat that obscured its eyes struck a pose and summoned a pair of guns. Immediately it charged at her, Lagunan guns blazing. Weaving through the bullets, Bayonetta spun and sent a kick into its midsection. Standing on her head, she continued her assault through bullets from her heels, aiming them at the heart of the Lagunan. The Joy, for its credit, summoned a small barrier and deflected every bullet. Jumping back to her feet, she summoned a wicked stomp to try and crush the angel.

Nimbly jumping to the side, the Joy taunted the witch, waving its hand in front of its face. Incensed, Bayonetta began to charge forward, intent on crushing the annoying thing.

That's when Sephiroth decided to join the fray. He dashed past the angel, arm and katana stretched out, a white flash obscuring his actions. He stopped several metres to the left of the angel, staying in his pose. As he stood back up and lowered his arm, the Joy literally fell apart into chunks of flesh, a gurgling scream erupting from its vocal chords as it did. He turned, wincing at the sound, and faced her.

"Bayonetta-" He tried to start talking.

"Don't." She held a hand up. "Don't even start."

"You hurt me." He said, and she felt the impact of those words. "Intentional or not."

"I'm…" She swallowed. Boy, was she not used to this. "Look, you know that was the Joy's influence, right?"

"The feelings were there for it to stir." He rebutted, and she knew he was right. "If you want me to leave, then I will. I can learn a lot from my resident Infernals and Lagunan, and I will be out of your hair permanently."

"I'd rather you were with me, fucking me over than in some godforsaken middle of nowhere, dying due to technique." She stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder. "Yes, you are frustrating. But that is to be expected of somehow who has had to do anything to survive, not learn how to survive. You've shown promise, and you have massive untapped potential, and that is good enough for me."

"I'm sorry for being frustrating to be with." Sephiroth replied, his eyes looking into hers with determination. "But I will try to get better, I promise."

"Good. I trust you in that you really mean that." She smiled and walked to the portal. "Through here is the airport, right?"

"So it said. I trust that it didn't lie; in my experiences, Angels don't lie. Withhold the true, twist it; but never falsify it." He nodded. "Shall we?"

"Ladies first." She smirked and gestured at him. He simply rolled his eyes and walked through the portal, and out of Paradiso. The sight he saw in the mortal realm was strange. A huge storm was above the airport, and Cereza was sitting with a man he recognised all too well.

Bayonetta followed him through and frowned at the sight he saw. "You again?"

"I'm wondering how Cereza got out of Purgatorio." He replied. "We can simply lose him again."

"I guess." She turned to him. "I'm going to go and say hello, ok? Don't go and run off on me now!"

He nodded and watched as she opened a portal back into the mortal realm.

…

"Mummy!" Cereza greeted her as she stepped out of seemingly nowhere. Luka started to speak, stopped and stared at the girl in bewilderment.

"Mummy?" He turned back to her. "You're her Mum? You?"

"Look at me Cheshire." Bayonetta smiled at him. "Do you think I have any interest in children?" He frowned at her as she continued. "Now making them, that's another story."

Luka stepped back and held is hands out as he shook his head, eyes wide at her suggestion. "Woah, you've got the totally wrong idea. I don't think making children is… Well…"

She smiled wider as he tripped over his words. A small plan began to form in her mind, as she noticed that he was still looking at her with eyes not filled fully with hatred, but, replacing itself with lust. A plan to rid herself of both mortals and the various baggage they contained.

"You see, Cheshire, I've been awfully lonely ever since I awoke twenty years ago." She batted her eyelashes at him and he visibly gulped. "Surely you can help me."

"Aahhh…" Luka shook his head. "Wait a minute, what the fuck!? What are you doing?"

"Can't you help a pretty damsel in distress?" She pouted slightly, and she saw his resolve beginning to crumble.

"Mummy, where is Bubby?" Cereza asked as she walked between the pair. The question was enough for the walls to snap back up and Luka to realise what she was doing.

"What the fuck?!" He yelled. "Stop trying to mess with my head, murderer!"

Bayonetta sighed but ignored him. "Bubby is around here, but not here."

"What have you done to this girl anyway?" Luka began to pace, then stopped as a realisation came to him. "Oh gods above, no, you didn't brainwash her?!"

She frowned and turned to him. "Oh, shut up."

"You did! You've put poor Cerezita under a spell, you foul witch!"

"Enough."

Luka's eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped as Sephiroth stepped out of Purgatorio. He saw his golden eyes, his black coat, his blonde hair, and his wing, each making the man more surprised and terrified that such a person existed. Opening and closing his mouth like a fish, he stared at him.

"Bubby!" Cereza ran to the winged man, who scooped her up with one hand. "I've missed you and Mummy!"

"Cereza." He smiled briefly at her. "Did you do well by yourself?"

Cereza nodded enthusiastically. She looked at the currently dazed mana. "Mister Luka took care of me whilst you were fighting the monster."

"Did he?" He asked, looking at the other man. "It looks like he has done a good job."

"What are you?" Luka finally found his voice.

"The real question here is who you are?" Sephiroth asked in return. "Bayonetta has told me a lot of things about you."

"I am Luka Redgrave, journalist extraordinaire." He answered with a grin, regaining his senses for the moment. "And it seems Bayonetta had put a spell on you too."

"Oh, sod off." Bayonetta stepped forward, placing herself between the pair. "I haven't cast a manipulation spell ever since I needed to handle some problem ten years ago."

"Bullshit." Luka stood forward. "You tried one just then on me."

Bayonetta had no answer. He was correct, in a way.

"You killed my father. You've placed spells on a child and some human monster hybrid, and now you've tried to enslave me to your will." Luka stepped forward, closing the distance between them. "You're sick and twisted, and now you are going to kill me, because I'm resisting."

"Perhaps I should." Bayonetta murmured, to the alarm of Sephiroth. "You're a lot more trouble than you are worth."

"Go ahead." Luka spread his arms out, as if to welcome her. "Prove me right."

"Bayonetta!" Sephiroth warned. She didn't hear him, though, or pretended not to.

"You listen here, mortal." She stepped forward. "I've seen things that would break your mind, and you think that you can convey any control over me?"

"You are a murderer and a heartless freak." He countered. "You can be manipulated."

Again, he was right in a way.

"You always think yourself above everything else." She unleashed her pent-up feelings and channelled them slightly, completely ignoring the looks Sephiroth was giving her. "Well, you mortals killed my entire clan of people, from fear! Maybe I should repay the favour and take our well-deserved revenge on you pathetic mortals!"

"Your powers and abilities are much to fear!" Luka stepped forward, so they were nearly nose to nose. "One of you is bad enough, but a town of them? A race of them? The world wouldn't stand a chance if you all went rogue!"

" _In your wickedness, you have broken our most sacred of vows…"_

"Hell, I don't think any force would be strong enough to contain just you, let alone defeat you!"

" _A child of light and dark, prophesied to bring ruin, was conceived by you…_ "

"It's a wonder how you haven't decided to go against the world! Who would stop you?"

" _My daughter is not a weapon of destruction! Only a product of love!"_


	9. Chapter 8: Temperance

_I don't own anything from Bayonetta or the name Sephiroth._

"The storm is getting worse…" Sephiroth tried to break the staring between the two. "Don't you two want to take this elsewhere?"

Cereza whimpered in his arms, obviously uncomfortable with both the tension and the weather.

"He's right, Cheshire." Bayonetta snapped out of her trance. "This isn't the weather for anything."

"I would be tempted to believe you, but this storm appeared out of nowhere, witch." He smirked. "Not even forecasted. So, which of you summoned it to get me indoors and out of the public eye?"

"Neither of us have powers over the weather, silly." She replied, waving his concern away. "You're overthinking it."

However, Sephiroth was. "Bayonetta, he kind of isn't."

"What is it, darling?" She replied, turning to face him.

"This storm isn't natural." He stated, a grim look in his eyes. Bayonetta understood his meaning and beckoned for him to come over.

"The angel from before?" She whispered, careful to not let Luka hear her.

"It must be." He grimaced. Looking down to Cereza, he addressed her. "You can't stay with us anymore, young lady. It's about to get really dangerous."

Wide-eyed, she nodded mutely. "Where will I go Mummy and Bubby?"

Both frowned at their respective titles but didn't mention it. Both looked at each other when they found their idea; both could see the unwillingness in each other's eyes.

"Cheshire?" Bayonetta called out.

"It's Luka, dammit! How many times do I have to-" Cereza was then dumped into his arms unceremoniously by her. "Hey-ey! What the-"

"We have business to attend to, Cheshire. Please try not to lose her." She winked and turned around, opening a portal to Purgatorio as she did.

Sephiroth shook his head at her antics. "I'm sorry. We will talk properly." He turned and tore his way into Purgatorio, stopping before he entered. "I'm Sephiroth, Luka."

Luka watched with confusion as he walked into the hole and disappeared.

"Holy sweet mother…" He cursed under his breathe.

…

Sephiroth met Bayonetta as she stared up at a massive tornado whirling through the airbase. Massive objects were being flung around like toys, and the pair paid no real heed to them. They flew past them, sometimes a hairs-breadth away or metres away.

"I do recognise this storm…" Bayonetta said. "Didn't it appear on Jormungandr's Staff?"

Sephiroth stiffened. "I think it did…"

A huge Angel emerged from the tornado, laughing. It was floating down towards them, its four finger-like cannons waving in the wind. Both recognised it as the angel from before and began to approach it; Bayonetta strode confidently whilst Sephiroth turned away with hidden fear.

" _Ah, the lovely Bayonetta._ " The calm voice of the Auditio addressed her. " _The Father has told me much about you, and so has the impressionable Jeanne. It seems you still hold the pride of an overseer in your eyes._ "

"I just feel like a fucking celebrity around here." Bayonetta spread her arms wide as she walked without fear. "Everybody wants to meet me, yet no one understands that I don't hand out free autographs!"

The Auditio merely smiled at her antics. " _Your pride is exactly as they described. I see you have found a new friend._ "

"Are you talking about Sephiroth here?" She gestured back to her friend. "He's not very talkative around strangers. You might want to be a little nicer then."

" _The experiment named itself now?_ " The angel laughed.

"You know him?" Bayonetta looked back briefly at the one-winged man behind her. "From where? He rarely gets out."

"It oversaw the experiments, and sometimes undertook with them." Sephiroth said quietly. "It was the main driver behind them."

Bayonetta's eyes widened with the statement. "You're fucking joking…"

" _Experiment 10978. The Father has been missing you._ " The Audito boomed. " _And I see you've made a friend as well._ "

"He can suck on my balls for all I care." His wing flexed, spreading out to behind Bayonetta. "He turned me into this. He doesn't miss me."

" _You should be giving him your thanks._ " It retorted. " _The Father has created a weapon worthy of his Right Eye._ " It gestured around to the destruction. " _And I, Temperentia, will be the one to return his weapon to his hand._ "

"I will not return to his tyranny!" The katana glimmered into existence as he took a stance. "I will never be a weapon for him to use!"

Temperentia seemed disappointed. " _So disobedient. The Father does not approve of your behaviour, as you might expect. When you return there will be consequences._ "

"What's he going to do? Punish me? Tear out my other wing? Make me fight Jeanne?" Sephiroth shook his head and glared defiantly. "There's nothing he could do that is worse than what he has already done to me."

" _Your family is dead._ " Temperentia announced, it's mouth forming a gleeful smile.

"My what?" Sephiroth froze. Bayonetta turned to him in shock, then faced the Auditio nearly as quick. Those words would've crushed her, but she had no family she could remember.

" _As punishment for your latest disobedience, The Father ordered a swift blow to all members of your family, from every cousin to every blood relative that shared any DNA with you._ " It explained, a cruel smile etched upon its face. " _They were sentenced to death, all four thousand, five hundred and twenty one of them. Their screams were exquisite._ "

"You killed them all, because of me?" He whispered. Shadows were beginning to build around his feet, and Bayonetta began to back off. Something explosive was about to happen, and she had her money on Sephiroth winning after it was all said and done. The Audito either did not notice or simply didn't think of him as a threat, as it continued talking.

" _Yes, and many more deaths will come if you continue to disobey._ " Temperentia was becoming impatient. " _Just come with me now so I don't have to explain to the Father why you are dust._ "

Sephiroth didn't answer. The darkness enveloped him and moulded to him, forming hardened armour. Two smaller wings sneaked out of his cloak and sat by his legs. His eyes glowed brighter than the sun, and Bayonetta couldn't look at them for long. Screaming in pure fury, spurred by his confusion, guilt and anger, he launched himself at the Auditio, faster than any mortal, witch or angel Bayonetta had ever seen. Temperentia had obviously not accounted for a full-frontal assault from something he considered lesser to him and cried out in surprise as the human-size bullet smashed into its torso and pushed the pair back into the tempest behind.

Realising the angel was distracted from her and its original purpose, Bayonetta turned away. Running towards the airbase, she stayed in Purgatorio and began to search the area for a way out.

…

Sephiroth had never felt more alive.

Power was coursing through his body, and he could feel all the potential stored within in his veins. He was flying, the two lower wings flapping to keep him afloat. He was slamming the katana with the force to shatter mountains into the Audito, trying to pulverise it.

Temperentia had not landed a hit, nor had it gone on the offensive ever since the battle had begun. All it could do was release elementals and other wind-born creations to buy itself some time to regroup, or to let Sephiroth tire himself out.

Neither of those seemed like it was going to happen anytime soon. He was a whirlwind of rage, sometimes a literal whirlwind of fire as pillars of flame would erupt and twist around, scorching the outer shell of the Auditio.

However, Temperentia could take the hits as he dished them. The armour and flesh of the Auditio was thick, except for seven well-protected nodes, as to where it could focus its power. It had the foresight to realise its slow moving swings and shots were not going to hit, so it instead focused on making the arena smaller and more choked, filling the air with tornadoes and debris.

" _You will pay for your treachery!_ " The Auditio roared, prepping a hand cannon.

"I never betrayed anyone; all I did was free myself!" He screamed back, sending beams of energy off the sword at the hand.

" _You betrayed your family!_ " It answered, firing the cannon at him. Fury built in him as he weaved passed the bullets, building momentum and speed as he tried to slam himself into the head of the Auditio. Temperentia seemed to anticipate this, and swung his other fist in an almighty punch, catching the winged man unawares. Flung by the force, he rocketed through several pieces of rock before landing on one. Gritting his teeth, he made to jump forward before a voice from his past stopped him.

 _Rule number 3: Don't fight emotionally compromised…_

He could almost sense her disappointment as he forced himself to calm down.

 _Alright, think!_ He began to plan frantically. _What is its weak point?_

He eyed the colossal Angel, trying to find anything that might give him an edge. Leaping from his rock, he started circling it as it fired massive human-sized bullets at him.

" _Give up, 10978!_ " It said as it circled around, trying to catch him. " _You will not defeat me!_ "

He summoned a small barrier and deflected a bullet back into it, causing it to briefly stagger. Grabbing a nearby tram car, which was somehow defying gravity due to the storm, he spun around and flung it into Temperentia's head.

The Audito howled in pain, and then screamed as the tram exploded. Flinching in pain, it raised its arms around its head, trying to form a barrier. Noticing the rings and beams of energy connecting them to its torso again, he realised what he could try. Using a nearby rock, he launched himself towards one of the arms, landing near the base. Sticking the katana in as a handhold, he held on for dear life as it tried to throw him off. Concentrating, he began to feel the power of Paradiso fill his veins as he began to weave together a spell.

"AOIVEAE DE CALZ MAELPEREJI!" He splayed his other hand open and a portal opened, a meteor flying out, aimed at the rings. Its aim was true, and it smashed the rings out of alignment, causing the whole arm to disconnect and fall. Leaping from the falling appendage, he landed on another tram.

" _You will pay for your resistance!"_ Temperentia howled in pain, staring down the winged man in pure hatred.

 _Mortal! Use this!_ Khepri pushed a spell into his mind. His eyes widened at the incantation, and the image of the spell in his mind. _It will defeat it for me!_

Both the Lagunan and Infernal were quick to agree. Jumping back, he let the katana fall back into Inferno. Hovering in the air, he felt the power of demons fill him as he chanted the spell, throwing his arms out as he began to channel forces outside of the planet.

"A ACOCASAHE ODBRINT NIIS!" He implored, and Temperentia visibly faltered at the words. "A ACOCASAHE ADAGITA TORZV A UIV ROR!"

…

"Cheshire!" Bayonetta jumped down to the pair, dodging and weaving her way past the flying debris. "Why the hell are you still here?"

"You!?" He turned around, Cereza crying out in recognition in his arms. "I knew this storm was your fault!"

"Still wrong." She looked around, trying to find a clear path through the storm. "We need to get out of here."

"Oh, you've just finally fucking realised that now?" Luka sarcastically answered. "Well, unless you've got a hotwiring kit down that shirt of yours, we are stuck here!"

"Mummy! Mister Luka! Look!" Cereza pointed up, and the two adults turned to face the direction she was pointing.

Several massive meteors were flying through the sky, impacting on an invisible object. Tapping her glasses to allow her to view Purgatorio, she saw Sephiroth and her she caught her breathe.

"What's going on Mummy?" Cereza asked, her voice full of wonder.

"Uhh, it's a lot of shooting stars!" Luka covered for her, and seemingly himself. "Make a wish, Cerezita!"

The girl, to his credit, closed her eyes tightly and faced down. He looked at her and glared, silently accusing her. She shrugged as she continued to watch in amazement. "It's not me doing this, Cheshire."

She turned to Cereza and tapped her glasses, letting her power flow into them. "Look and see for yourself, little one."

Cereza opened her eyes and looked back at the quasi-fireworks show, seeing him and the sight as well. Her amazement somehow increased, and her eyes widened in a cartoon-like fashion.

"It's so pretty!" She then looked at her. "You never told me Bubby could do that!"

"I didn't know." She smiled briefly, then found the exit she was hoping for. "Cheshire! This way!"

"Wha- No, I'm not travelling with you!" Luka held his ground. Groaning, she grabbed him by his collar and picked him up like a feather and simply carried the struggling man through the storm.

…

Jeanne stared at the destruction of the Auditio in a stunned silence.

 _Such power wasn't possible for him before._ She thought. _What changed?_

…

Closing his eyes, he felt the power drain from his body as the meteor storm finished. Sensing a rock beneath him, he landed on it, gracefully and slowly. Opening his eyes, he viewed the wreck of the Auditio with complete and utter hatred.

It lay on the ground, its armour shattered and the red, fleshy interior bleeding and bruised. Its other arm had been crushed and was almost flattened into a 2D object. Its face plates had been blasted off, and the horrifying, inhuman face was revealed to the world. It was wheezing in pain, yet laughing.

" _He was right!_ " It coughed, then continued to chortle. " _So wonderfully right!_ "

He frowned at it. "The Father?"

The storm began to disappear as the Auditio's power and life force began to fade. Jumping onto the torso, he stood in front of its head.

" _He has made a weapon worthy of the Creator._ " It gurgled. " _And for his Right Eye. He was right, and he will continue to be…_ "

He simply stared in hatred at the Lagunan. "You took everything from me…"

" _He made you perfectly…_ " Its voice was beginning to fade. " _He gave everything to you..._ "

"Then I will make you dust!" He screamed at it. "QUASABA!"

A massive lightning bolt struck the head, slaying and vaporising it. And thus two of the four were gone, and the Lagunan inside of him mourned whilst the Infernal celebrated.

Hold on. He had just vaporised one of the most powerful beings in the world.

He collapsed to the ground, looking at his hands in fear. What had he just done?

 _You have done well, mortal._ Khepri sounded ecstatic. _Your soul will be worth it._

What had he become?

…

"Well, the storm is gone now, Cheshire." Bayonetta smiled at him. "Which car were you fancying?"

The man merely grumbled in her grip. Ignoring him, she found a blue van relatively untouched from the chaos of the previous 10 minutes. Sticking out her middle finger, she licked it, then stuck it into the keyhole and twisted, unlocking the car.

"What!?" Luka stared in surprise and shock. "You can just do that? We are going to steal a car?"

"You are going to steal this car." She grabbed Cereza out of his arms and pushed him into the driver's seat. "Because I'm feeling generous."

"Fuck off!" He tried to get out, but a glint from her eye made him hastily retreat into the seat. "Ok, Ok! Get in while I try to hotwire this thing."

"Mummy, aren't we going to wait for Bubby?" Cereza asked, looking back at where they had last seen the man. Bayonetta turned and tried to find him, looking back into Purgatorio. She found him kneeling in what looked like sand, head down.

"He'll probably catch up." She grabbed one of her guns, stuck her hand into Purgatorio and fired it in front of him, grabbing his attention. She gestured to him, and he nodded. Standing, he walked over to the trio, tearing his way back into the mortal realm.

"Bubby!" Cereza smiled in joy as he reappeared to her. "You were so awesome!"

He smiled thinly at her, patting her on the head. Looking up to her, the smile dropped.

 _I don't want to talk. Please, leave me be._ She heard him mentally say. Frowning slightly, she sent a questioning look back at him. He shook his head. _I don't want to talk about it._

"It's good to see you." She smiled and gestured behind her to the cursing Luka. "Cheshire here has volunteered to take us to a place where we can rest, like that super fancy hotel that is nearby, right?"

"No I never!" Luka objected, taking a break from hotwiring. "Why are you using me anyway? You killed my father!"

"Oh, shut up." She turned to him. "Now, Cheshire, you are in no place to bargain. You can't say no to a lady, especially this one. And, what of poor Cereza?"

"I don't see what she has to do with this…" Luka grumbled, but understood the threat. Achieving a spark, the van's engine roared. Piling in, the strange quartet left the ruins of the Vigrid Airport.

…

Jeanne was not happy.

"Well, that is fucking brilliant, isn't it?" She said to herself. "We just lost our largest backer from Paradiso, and the most level-headed of the Auditio."

She paused, and then screamed in frustration. "That's not what we had planned! They have him, the girl and the Eye still! And she still hasn't retained her memories, or unlocked its potential!"

Silence, then a hiss cut through the air. "Separate them? That could work. Try to get her out of the picture; he won't be able to fight his way through everything forever."

Nodding, she began to pace around on her rooftop. "If the stupid minions of Paradiso can't do it, then perhaps the other one here can…"


	10. Chapter 9: The Journey Onwards

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own Bayonetta or the name Sephiroth._

"You know, you're all talk Cheshire." Bayonetta took the lollipop out of her mouth as he drove, visibly agitated. "So much about your righteous quest to not be controlled by me."

"Oh really?" Luka replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "So, I was supposed to let you shoot me with your gun, so I could not be controlled by you? Yeah, I do want to continue living on this earth, thank you very much, even though it does prove to me you are what I say you are."

"Mummy?" Cereza pulled on her sleeve. Sighing with annoyance, she turned to the child.

"For the last time, I am not your mother. What is it, little one?"

She pointed at the winged man sitting in the back. "Bubby doesn't want to talk with me."

"He doesn't want to talk to anyone right now." Bayonetta smiled, hoping that she would drop the subject.

"I watched him fight that monster." Cereza stated. "And he lighted the sky with such pretty colours! Why would he not want to talk? He was amazing!"

"Yeah, a winged freak being amazing and killing monsters." Luka muttered under his breathe. "Believe it when I see it."

Bayonetta hit him over the back of the head. "You know, it's awfully rude of the Chauffeur to make fun of his clients." She admonished as he rubbed his skull. Turning back to Cereza, she smiled again. "That particular monster gave him a lot of trouble for the last twenty years. He was returning the favour."

"By nearly levelling the entire base?" Luka turned around. "What even could give a person that much trouble?"

Bayonetta ignored him and Sephiroth continued to stay quiet. "Why do you call him Bubby anyway? He is not very bubbly, as you can see by his obvious charm right now."

"Because Daddy told me I would find my brother." She started. Bayonetta's face fell and she struggled not to laugh. "And I can see him as brother! So he must be!"

"Does that make him my son?" Bayonetta's voice barely could contain her amusement.

"Don't you remember him Mummy? Daddy said he would be a little strange." Cereza answered.

She couldn't help it. She laughed, laughed harder than she could remember, laughed at the sheer absurdity of it. Luka was shaking his head, and Sephiroth looked paler than normal and stared at the girl with wide eyes.

"What's so funny Mummy?" Cereza asked, completely confused.

…

Luka found a hotel in a surprisingly short amount of time, and it was even a hotel that lived up to Bayonetta's high standards. The attendants in the lobby were a little confused when a classy woman, a patchwork child and a stressed looking man walked in and asked for the best room for four people. They gave them the key to the penthouse after a few moments of hesitation, and they retired, as quickly as they came. Then they all stared at the broken vases that were all on the left side of the rooms and hallways, trying to figure to if the day was windy or not.

…

"You didn't have to break all of them, darling." Bayonetta giggled as Sephiroth stormed into the penthouse.

"Wait, that was you?" Luka said in bewilderment. "I thought that that was her, trying to intimidate the poor attendants downstairs."

"Try having a giant wing that does anything it wants." Sephiroth hissed, and then chose a room silently and made his way to it. "Goodnight!"

He slammed the door, but the tip of his wing got caught in between it and the frame. Yelling in pain, he reopened the door as both Bayonetta and Cereza giggled at his predicament and the irony. They both stopped when the door was launched off its hinges and wedged itself into the opposing wall. A small cry of frustration was heard from inside the room.

"Uhh…." Luka stared, gobsmacked. "I'll just be over here." He darted over to another room and closed his door carefully, yet with great haste.

Cereza turned and looked up at her. "Is Bubby ok?"

"I don't think so, little one." Bayonetta stared at the door-less room. "Run along now, lets go and explore your new home."

…

After sufficiently distracting Cereza with the plush beds and bright and colourful rooms, Bayonetta walked back to Sephiroth's one. Walking in, she saw him hugging his knees whilst sitting on his bed, dried tears on his face.

"What am I?" He asked her as she sat at the edge of the bed. "What am I?"

"You are who you define yourself to be." Bayonetta looked at him in concern. "What's wrong?"

"I've defeated one third of those responsible for me." He answered. "With ways I don't know how to, or even if I want to, replicate."

"The powers you displayed were pretty fucking awesome." Bayonetta tried to sooth him.

"Power is addictive, Rodin said so himself." He replied. "I don't know if that level of power is something I want, or something I want ever."

"Do you not trust yourself with it?" She frowned. "Sephiroth, I know people who would kill to have that sort of power. Hell, the only way I got most of mine was through the infernal contract, which you should know comes at a price."

"Who is to say there isn't going to be repercussions from Inferno or Paradiso?" He countered. "The whole time, it was so addicting. All I wanted was to obliterate him and it happened because I willed it."

"Now, don't get so melodramatic-" Bayonetta began.

"You don't understand!" His outburst interrupted her. "Yeah, your soul goes to Madama Butterfly if you fuck up enough times. That's well known, and well documented. What happens to me? Do I ascend to a higher state? Is my soul going to Inferno and into Khepri? Will I become a slave to Paradiso? I don't know, and it scares me. My own potential scares me…"

"Then you're going to need to hone your craft and study your power." She smiled wryly. "It's the only way the original witches learnt their limits, and it's going to be the same with you."

Nodding in understanding, he then grabbed her hand. Surprised by his bravado, she nearly pulled away, but steeled herself and let him hold it.

"Promise me." He looked her in the eye, a desperate plead in his. "Promise me that if they find me, or they take control of me, that you will put me down. You will end me."

Her eyes widened. "You don't mean that, Sephiroth…"

"You said so yourself. My potential outweighs yours." He swallowed, trying to not lose his composure. "You need to promise me that this potential can never fall into the hands of another, especially him."

"I promise." She said after a moment's hesitation. Something about this whole exchange was bugging her. A small snippet of memory played through her mind;

" _Our treasured Left Eye, will never fall into the hands of another!"_

"Thank you." He let her hand go, and she felt slight disappointment that he did. Sensing that he was finished with her, and people in general for the moment, she rose and left, biding him a simple goodnight.

She found Cereza just outside, pouting at her.

"Little one?" She asked, perplexed at the child's behaviour.

"I wanna have a bath together!" She demanded, stamping her little foot with emphasis.

Bayonetta blinked, then frowned. "Why should we have a bath together?"

"Because we always do Mummy!" She explained, then added in a saddened tone. "Well, we did…"

Her first instinct was to say no. There was no real point in doing so, and it would make it hard for Cereza to realise she couldn't just demand everything. However, there wasn't any obvious downsides she could think of, and was there really much harm in a bath? She hadn't cleaned herself off properly ever since Vigrid, about 2 weeks ago. And Cereza needed cleaning as well.

Two angels in one missile blast.

She turned and began walking to the bathroom. Sighing when she noticed that the girl wasn't following her, she stopped.

"Come along little one."

…

Luka was planting a bug into Bayonetta's and Cereza's room when Sephiroth announced his presence.

"You know…" He started.

"Shit." Luka said in response, freezing his actions and his body.

"…that voyeur porn of a child is very much illegal in every country?" He folded his arms as Luka turned around sheepishly. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I wanted to know if I could get evidence from Bayonetta herself." He explained curtly. Sephiroth sighed with annoyance.

"You know, even if she did do it, it was a complete accident from what I have heard." He frowned at him.

"Complete accident?" Luka's blood was beginning to boil. "She murdered him to fuel her recovery!"

"She doesn't even know why he died, let alone if she did it or not!" His blood was also heating up. The two men stared at each other, anger evident all over their figures.

"Why do you defend her anyway?" Luka asked. "Are you her lover or something? Are you under her spell?"

Sephiroth went red, but didn't betray anything else. "She is my only friend."

"Oh great, a sob story." Luka yawned, but immediately regretted everything. Sephiroth grabbed him and slammed him into the wall, knocking the wind right out of him.

"You have no idea." He hissed, and Luka suddenly realised that it was not wise to piss this one off. Sephiroth was nothing like her, and quite obviously held no restraint when provoked. "You have no idea what I've been through, why I'm like this, and how she saved me from a life of torture from him."

He could only stare back at the golden eyes with terror.

"She saved my life, more times than I can count, and is training me as her protégé." He continued. "I owe a lot of things to her, and you don't know half of it because you're either trying to fuck her or kill her."

Luka swallowed. Breathing out, Sephiroth released him.

"The reason I'm on her side is that she hasn't truly exhibited any genocidal behaviours, like you are describing."

"It could be an act." Luka retorted weakly.

"I also think that you should get all the facts before accusing someone." Sephiroth closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. "You're a journalist, you figure it out."

"I do have all the fa- ah, ah, oh!" Luka's eyes bulged out of his head and his face went crimson. Sephiroth frowned as he turned around, but then quickly went the same.

Bayonetta, wearing nothing but small patches of hair around her breasts and groin area, was staring at the two. Her hair was down, and her body glistened with water.

"I heard a thud." She smiled, noticing how entranced the two were. "Are you two behaving?"

A pair of silenced nodding and gagging answered her.

"Don't break anything, I'd hate to have to report it to the manager." She turned around, walking back to the bathroom, her smile widening as she knew that the pair were still watching her. Before she could re-enter the bathroom, she turned back to them.

"Don't you two know that it is rude to stare?"

Sephiroth snapped out of his stupor and turned around faster than Bayonetta thought was possible. In doing so, his wing slapped into Luka, who was flung to the ground.

With her laughter echoing throughout the room, they heard her step back into the bathroom and out of sight.

"You know, if she didn't murder my father, I would probably be in love with her." Luka said, still splayed out on the ground. He sounded distant, like he was distracted. Which wasn't too surprising given the circumstances.

"Yeah." Sephiroth tried to forget the last thirty seconds.

…

Bayonetta returned to see a joyful Cereza. She was happily splashing the water of the sizeable bathtub, throwing the bubbles Bayonetta had formed inside around the room.

She looked around, watching and revelling in her innocent joy for a moment, but then grew serious.

"Little one!" She called out. Cereza gasped, ceased her movement and stared at her with guilty eyes. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing Mummy." She answered too quickly. Bayonetta rolled her eyes.

"Lying doesn't suit a lady, little one." She admonished. "And I am not your mother."

"Yes you are, Mummy." She argued. "And I'm not lying!"

"Then how did the bubbles get on me?" Bayonetta crossed her arms. Cereza gulped, then smiled nervously.

"They floated onto you?"

Bayonetta rolled her eyes yet again, but didn't press it. Climbing back into the tub, she grabbed the body wash and gestured for Cereza to come to her.

"Come here, little one. Now we can start what we were going to be doing before we got interrupted." She waded over to her and climbed between her legs. Bayonetta saw her skin up close, and her heart fell. It was covered in small scars, bruises and other small blemishes.

"Where did you get all of these?" She asked as she began to clean the girl. Cereza tensed slightly, but relaxed.

"After they took you away, the others at school started hating me more." She explained. "You wouldn't know Mummy, cause they took you away."

"They hurt you?" Bayonetta frowned as she examined one of the scars on Cereza's back. Something looked familiar about that one in particular….

"They always hurt me Mummy." Cereza said simply. "You know that. They started hurting me more, and the mean witch lady who takes care of me decided to start hating me too."

Bayonetta shook her head, and gathered her in her arms in an embrace.

"No child should go through this." She whispered to her. "No one ever."

"Mummy!" Cereza squirmed, her muffled cries vibrating all the wrong regions. "Your boobies are hurting me!"

Bayonetta laughed and pulled her away from her chest. "Now, now, little one. Who taught you that language?"

"Sometimes Mister Luka mentions them." She replied, not noticing the slight blush on Bayonetta's cheeks. "He says something about a distraction."

"When you grow up, your body becomes your best weapon." Bayonetta replied, a weird cross between laughter and rage lacing her tone. "Be it fighting angels or espionage, it is always useful."

Cereza nodded, but obviously didn't understand.

…

After calming down and taking a cold shower that would make most athletes jealous, Luka walked out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. His hands rubbed his temples, trying to ward off the headache as he tried to figure out what the fuck was going on. He made a mental checklist, listing each aloud.

"My father wakes Bayonetta twenty years ago and kills him. Then the CEO of Ithavoll, his employer, goes into hiding for twenty years after an accident occurred in the lower levels. Then Bayonetta has a kid, or two, and there are winged freaks walking amongst us." He held up three fingers. "And now they are heading to Isla Del Sol to talk with the CEO of Ithavoll. I'm going crazy, aren't I?"

"A lot of that is your opinion." Sephiroth's voice called to him from his right. He was sitting on the table, half hidden in shadow, nursing a drink. "But, yeah. Sums it up, really."

Luka jumped slightly at the sound of his voice but calmed down almost immediately. He turned to the winged man and gestured at the empty seat next to him. Sephiroth nodded, and he sat down.

"You know a lot of things, Luka. Perhaps more than any mortal should." Sephiroth stared at him with a mix of curiosity and awe. "What is your story?"

Luka hesitated, but realised there was no real harm in telling. "My father made it his lives work to work out the history of the Lumen and Umbran Witches. He died once he got his first real lead." He reminisced. "I've been trying to pick up where he left off; I'm not even half of the journalist he was, and I'll never be. Instead, I've been trying to track her down and find some answers to his death."

"Well." The man smiled sadly. "It seems you've succeeded on that part."

"Rather unwillingly." Luka cut in, a frown beginning to etch onto his features. "She did drag me here."

"That she did." Sephiroth shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"For what? Destroying the airport?" Luka rolled his eyes. "Well, now there is only one way to Isla Del Sol now, and it's over Route 666."

Sephiroth let out a bark of laughter. "Not for the Airport, but for the whole situation you are in. You shouldn't be in this mess."

Luka stood up. "I don't know why you are apologising, you're not the one who dragged me into this mess." Turning away, he began to walk back into the hotel. "I'm retiring for the night. Hopefully I'll still be alive by then."

…

"I say it because she won't." Sephiroth said once Luka had disappeared into his room. Downing the last of the coffee, he rose and leaned against the railing. Bayonetta walked beside him, her portal to Purgatorio closing behind her.

"Oh, stop with the dramatics." She chided as she leaned against it as well. "I'll apologise eventually."

Sephiroth gave her a glance, then looked out into the distance. "We've killed two of the Auditio."

"Is that supposed to be foreboding?" She laughed slightly.

"The Father will be furious. I won't be surprised if the forces of Paradiso come en masse tomorrow." He ignored her. "It is going to be a tough couple of days."

She stayed silent, reflecting on his words. "Do you think this Route 666 is where we need to go?"

"Luka didn't lie." He tapped his forehead. "What of Cereza?"

"The little one?" She turned to him. "I was thinking of leaving her with Cheshire."

She could see his disagreement visibly as he turned to her. "Leave the girl the Angels want with the mostly defenceless mortal?"

"That is a very bad idea when you say it out loud." She grinned. "She could come with us, but then who would watch over her?"

"I could." Sephiroth immediately volunteered. "I don't trust myself to go on the offensive, probably not for a little while."

She understood his point. "And my strengths are not defence. Until we figure out who she is and who her real mother is."

"Yeah." Sephiroth froze up for a second, and Bayonetta couldn't help but break out into giggles again.

"Aww, come on sonny boy, don't be sad." She held her arms out. "Let Mummy give you a hug to cheer you up!"

He gave her a flat look. She burst out into laughter and held herself as she doubled over.

"I get it. You are a great comedian." He said with venom in his voice.

"Just you wait…" She finally got up. "When my memories are back, and it turns out you are my son, I'll never let you live it down."

He turned away. "I pray to Khepri that that day never comes…"

…

The quartet checked out the next day, Bayonetta paying for the night and the damages (since she was the only one with a large enough income to conceivably pay without debt). As they tumbled into the van and drove off onto Route 666, both her and Sephiroth quickly became uncomfortable with the silence from Purgatorio.

"There's the security centre." Luka announced, pulling into the leftmost lane. "We are going to need to somehow get past this without setting it off with you two in the car."

Sephiroth merely flickered into Purgatorio as Bayonetta followed suite. Luka shivered at the disappearance of the pair but refocused on getting through.

"Now, Cerezita." He turned to the girl sitting to his side. "If anyone asks, I'm your uncle, OK?"

Cereza nodded enthusiastically. "Can you be my uncle all the time, Mister Luka?"

"I don't see why not." He returned his eyes to the road. "I've had several uncles that weren't uncles by blood."

"Yay!" Cereza waved her arms in a small victory dance. "I've got an uncle!"

"Do you not have one normally?" He asked as he began to slow down.

The child shook her head. "Mummy is a witch, and witches only have families if the…clan… needs them." She frowned, as if she was struggling to remember.

"You know that your Mum is a witch?" He exclaimed.

She nodded again. "Mummy is a witch, and witches protect people from monsters."

"If you say so, Cerezita." He grimaced, then smiled as he stopped. "Looks like we'll be all good for the checkpoint."

The car rattled.

"Huh?" Luka glanced out. "What was that?"

Cereza tapped her glasses, and looked outside. "Mummy?"

"Oh great, now the kid is seeing things." Luka buried his head into his hands.

A cracking sound occurred from behind them, and the car shuddered. Luka's head whipped around in fear.

"What the fu- hell is going on?" He tried to spot anything on the bridge behind them.

A massive crack appeared, and Sephiroth retook his seat in the van. "Drive!"

"What?" Luka stared at him in confusion. "Tell me what is going on!"

"The Angels have come to fulfil their retribution." He replied. "And if you want to take part in that, then stick around."

That didn't sound too good. "But they are angels! I haven't done anything bad!"

"Do you think they will discriminate?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at him.

Alright, he had a point. "We can't exactly go forward, you know?" Luka gestured to the traffic ahead of him.

Sephiroth's eyes began to glow as the cars began to rise ahead of them. "That won't be a problem. Now drive!"

Luka stared at the sight. "Telekinesis…?" He shook his head and stepped on the gas.

They hadn't made more than one hundred metres when the bridge collapsed behind them. Cereza screamed and Luka cursed.

"What the fuck is going on back there!?" He yelled as he increased the speed.

Sephiroth didn't answer and opened the door to the outside. Like a cat, he climbed out and onto the top of the van. Closing it behind him and closing his eyes in concentration, he began to move all the floating cars out of the way of the battle that was currently raging in Purgatorio.

…

Bayonetta shot an Applaud and glanced at the sight in the mortal realm in confusion.

What in the bloody name of Madama Butterfly was he doing in the open like that?

 _That's a good one._ Her normally silent patron said in amusement. She ignored her and returned to the veritable horde facing her down. A few companies of Affinities, about twenty Applauds and four Beloveds that were destroying the bridge as they moved over it.

She really wished Sephiroth could just blow them up like he had with Temperentia.

Wicked punching a few angels that had gotten too close to her, she tried to figure out a plan get rid of these pests. A summon on this bridge wouldn't work too well, given the fact she was constantly in retreat and the small area of the security centre itself.

"Well, it looks like I have to deal with you boys the old-fashioned way." She smiled, beginning to walk towards the army. "Punishing you for my pleasure."

The main Applaud screeched at her. " _The witch will burn for her sins!"_

"Oh please, this isn't Salem." She strolled forward, confidence growing. "Come on boys, show me what you have got."

They dove at her, she smiled and threw herself at them with gusto.

A massive roar stunned her momentarily, as well as the angels. To her side, running at the bridge at full speed on the water, was a massive four-legged angel with an upside-down head.

"Oh, fuck me." She whispered to herself as it crashed into the bridge, obliterating it. Throwing up a small shield to protect herself, she was pushed off the bridge and began to fall.

Noticing that Sephiroth or the two mortals were not with the falling debris, she smiled to herself.

 _At least they were safe… And not going to get wet…_

Noticing that the Angel had opened a portal to Paradiso underneath her, she began to panic slightly. That wasn't where she wanted to go. Paradiso now would be very annoying, since she couldn't get to Ithavoll or Isla Del Sol from there easily. Resigned to her fate, she let herself fall into the realm of the Laguna.

But on the bright side, she wasn't going to get wet now.


	11. Chapter 10: A Remembrance of Time

_AUTHORS NOTE: I don't own any part of Bayonetta or the Sephiroth name._

Bayonetta landed onto the ground of Paradiso with a soft thud. Staying on her back, she watched as the angel closed the portal, and begin to laugh. It turned to the left and crawled away, back to whatever part of the realm it had come from. She was half tempted to get its attention and teach it a lesson about getting in the way of a witch but decided that fighting a giant angel, that may or may not be an Auditio, on its home turf was basically suicide.

And she had no intentions of dying yet.

Sitting up, she looked around. She was on a platform that vaguely reminded her of a wall she had seen in Vigrid. A path formed by solid light lay ahead of her, and it seemed to twist into a courtyard straight out of Vigrid.

"Jesus…" She whispered to herself. "This is Vigrid, isn't it?"

Standing up, she stepped onto the path and continued to the courtyard. Standing at the edge, she saw the exact same image she had seen when she first arrived; people milling about, living their lives without the knowledge of the mystical powers at their doorstep. She subconsciously attempted to pull herself into Purgatorio, but remembered she wasn't in the mortal realm anymore.

"Hello there." An old man smiled at her, beckoning over to her. "Welcome to Vigrid."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know aren't in Vigrid anymore; this is Paradiso, the realm of Light."

His eyes softened, and he continued to smile. "We know that, love. This still is Vigrid, even if it's not on Earth."

She hesitated, but stepped forward. "You must know why you are here then?"

"We have died, and the angels found us worthy." He nodded his head.

She glanced at the children playing near the fountain. "Do you know what I am, and why I am here?"

He gave her a look that even she began to feel uncomfortable with as his eyes lingered on her figure for far too long. "One of the people of the infamous red-light district of Isla Del Sol? You certainly are dressed the part."

"What? No!" She looked at him with disgust. "I am the last Umbra Witch, and I fell into here."

 _Well, the last that still acts like an Umbran Witch…_ Her thought briefly fell to Jeanne.

"An Umbra witch? Of the legends?" He laughed. "You certainly have quite the imagination."

The people in the town square stopped their actions and stared at her. An uncomfortable tingle went up her spine, and she discreetly looked around more. Her eyes narrowed at the emptiness in their eyes.

Something was wrong.

"The angels told us that we had died due to an Umbra Witch." The smiled was gone. "That our home town was destroyed because of one."

 _Shit…_

"You wouldn't happen to know who this witch is, right?" His tone was clearly accusatory. "Bayonetta."

The square transformed. Gone were the happy children and the peaceful families. Fire burned everywhere, and the charred corpses of the mortals lay there. Screams of pan filled the air, and the roar of the flame caused her sleeves to fly wildly.

The man looked at her in disgust. "You witches never learn. Whenever you interfere with our plans, people suffer. The experiment interfered; his family perished. You interfere; a whole town is gone."

Guilt was clawing at her. Swallowing, she tried to quell it. "I have never killed a mortal, unless they had it coming. I've never tried to interfere with the affairs of mortals, or the affairs of Paradiso if I can help it!"

"Your interference will always come at a price." He smiled again. This time, it did not reach his eyes. "You will learn it."

Reaching into Inferno, she grabbed one of the Scarborough Fair. Several hands latched onto her gloves, and she looked down and gasped. The burnt corpses of the children were holding onto her with inhuman strength. They dragged her to her knees, each one looking at her with accusing, eyeless sockets.

"Look at them, Bayonetta." He leaned down to her. "They had such a bright future, and you took it away from them. Aren't you proud of yourself?"

"Fortitudo, in its stupidity, laid waste to them." She looked back, trying to quash the guilt. "I did nothing!"

"You interfered with the child, and the experiment." The man shook his head. "And who was the one to undo the seal that kept it locked away?"

Her head fell. The children began to whisper.

 _Witch. The witch. Killer. You killed us. Traitor._

Tears were pooling in her eyes. She really, really hated guilt.

"Stop it!" She screamed.

"Why should we? You don't care about the lives of mortals. You killed one just to refill your powers, and are using another as a slave because you are far too self absorbed." The man began to walk away. "Have fun, Bayonetta."

She pulled her arms with all her strength. The children refused to let go and held on tighter. Screaming in fury and desperation, she began to resign herself to her fate.

Something hit her in the back of her head and she lost consciousness.

…

" _Why does everyone hate me?" Bayonetta asked the girl in red beside her. She shrugged._

" _I don't know. You aren't different from them." She answered, taking a bite of the apple._

" _Mummy says it's because I'm special." She looked at the apple in her hands. "What does being special mean?"_

" _I dunno." The girl leaned back. "Mummy tells me I'm special 'cause I'm the daughter of the Umbran Elder or something."_

" _The Umbran Elder?" Bayonetta looked at her in surprise. "She made Mummy sad and made her go away!"_

" _Mummy did that?" She looked back in surprise. "So that's why she was so unhappy."_

" _Why does everyone do things that make them unhappy?" Bayonetta asked. "Why can't we all be happy?"_

" _She said rules are rules when I asked her the same thing." The girl tossed her apple core away. "Come, lets practise arith…arith…"_

" _Arithmetic?" Bayonetta supplied. "Sure thing, Jeanne!"_

…

Bayonetta awoke, her mind whirling at the memory. Jeanne? Jeanne was her best friend as a child?

Her eyes widened. That's why she was so deflated when she didn't recognise her. What a shitty day it had been for her.

She glanced around. The fountain and courtyard had returned to normal, well, to whatever constituted as normal in the realm of Paradiso. Standing up quickly, she summoned a gun and shot it into the ground, emptying as many bullets as she wanted to.

"Remind me to update the list of horrible things to cockroaches, crying babies and zombie children." She said aloud, shivering in disgust. Turning her attention to the double doors at the end of the corridor, she walked over to them. Giving them a good solid kick, she continued through.

The hallway was far too familiar to her for her liking. Walking up to a wall, she crossed her arms and studied the architecture, trying to place it.

A wave of nausea went through her, and she collapsed against the wall, holding her head as another memory assaulted her…

…

 _Jeanne was bubbling with excitement as she hopped from one foot to another outside of Bayonetta's cell. The cell door opened, and a tired teenager stood at it._

" _What is it, Jeanne?" She asked, obviously still feeling the effects of sleep. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something today?"_

" _Guess what!" Her excitement was palpable._

" _What?" She rubbed her eyes._

" _I was talking with Mummy last night, and she told me that you're allowed to train as a witch!"_

 _Her head snapped up, and all traces of her sleepiness was gone. "I thought I wasn't allowed to?"_

" _They decided you could." Jeanne grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the cell. "You're going to be training with me, as my partner."_

" _This is a very welcome turn of events." Bayonetta smiled in excitement. "Did they tell you why I wasn't allowed?"_

" _Nope, but it doesn't matter now." Jeanne began to walk away, Bayonetta tagging behind. "When I grow up and take the mantle of Elder, I want you as a part of my council of right hand women."_

" _You've clearly planned this out, haven't you?" She teased the platinum blonde. "What are we supposed to be doing today? I never looked at the schedule."_

" _Today we bind ourselves to an Infernal, so we can start learning at an accelerated rate." She looked behind her, clearly giddy. "I honestly can't wait! Have you read up on any of the Infernals?"_

" _No, because I never expected this to happen." She answered, realising she was going to be way out of her element._

" _I want to try to broker one with Madama Khepri, because she is apparently the nicest Infernal out there." She arrived at a set of open doors leading to an auditorium. Inside was a group of twenty teens, and about twenty two Umbran Witches._

" _It's good to see we have all shown up." The Umbran Elder glared at the pair._

" _Sorry, Mummy." Jeanne answered, shifting uncomfortably._

" _I wasn't talking to you." The Elder said, and Bayonetta felt her cheeks burn in shame. If only she could punch that stupid look off her face…_

" _Anyway, it's time for you all to broker a contract with an Infernal." The Elder returned her attention to the class as the pair stood by them. "We have the necessary protection from anything that might decide to join us in this room, or reality. Each of you will be assigned a witch who will guide you through the process, if you haven't read it yet." Another glare at her. "Good luck to you all."_

 _Bayonetta turned left to Jeanne and whispered urgently. "What do we do?"_

 _She smiled encouragingly at her. "They'll tell you everything. Don't worry, _."_

 _Nodding at her, she turned to her right to see a familiar face._

" __. You've grown so much." Her mother looked at her with pride in her eyes. The rest of her was covered in grime and dirt, and iron shackles were affixed to her ankles and wrists._

" _Mummy!" She moved to embrace the witch, but she held a hand out._

" _Not now, we need to do this." Her mother swallowed. "We have thirty minutes after we do the contract. Are you ready to accept your fate, as an Umbran Witch, an overseer of darkness?"_

" _I'm not afraid Mummy." She looked at her with intense eyes, focusing on the ritual ahead. "I accept."_

…

She opened her eyes as her head stopped spinning. Looking at the corridor, she recognised it truly. And right where they should've been, was a pair of doors. Walking to them, she pushed them open to find the ruins of an auditorium.

The Umbran Elder stared back at her, a disapproving frown glaring at her from under her veil.

"As always, the impure child returns to mock us at the site of our greatest defeat." The voice was condescending.

"I remember you always saying that." Bayonetta adjusted her glasses. "Why am I impure?"

"Your mother disobeyed our first tenet, and you were conceived as a result." The Elder folded her arms. "You were never supposed to be trained, let alone become the carrier of the Eye."

"The Eye?" She questioned, walking down the stair and into the room.

"The greatest, the most precious of the Umbran treasures, defiled by an impure Witch." The Elder spat out. "The Left Eye of the world. Something my daughter was destined to possess, yet you bested her with your tricks."

She remembered that memory. "What does the Eye do?" She questioned, holding her hand near her Umbran watch.

"Your Umbran training never took you as far as teaching you the intricacies of the Eye." The Elder replied. "And it never was going to. We were going to challenge you to take away the mantle, as the Eye can only be given willingly or through defeat by combat. The Lumen Sages attacked shortly afterwards, and we were now at war. Infighting would serve only to weaken us, so any plans to take back the Eye were put on hold."

Her vision swam as another memory came to her:

 _She sat on the floor, studying the red jewel; the Left Eye of the World. Something she knew Jeanne had wanted desperately. It was the symbol of their leadership and was the most sacred of the Umbran relics, containing an ancient power said to be of the old God._

 _She had no idea what to do with it though. Placing it into her Umbran watch, she cast a small spell onto it to seal it in place. Looking around the small room, she noted that it was full of other relics and treasures on display. She had never gone into this room; she was never allowed to go into this room._

" __." A trio of guards had entered the chamber. "The Elder's requires your presence immediately."_

 _Nodding to them, and paying no heed to their looks of disgust, she followed them to the throne room. Bowing to the Elders, she focussed on the highest ranked._

" _You asked for my presence?" She took the opportunity to begin this conversation. The Elders, to no surprise, were glaring at her._

" __. The current holder of the Umbran Eye and the heir to this throne." The Elder's all visibly twitched at that statement. "You did not cheat nor conspire with Jeanne to trivialise this ceremony?"_

 _Her eyes were constantly looking into hers, and then switching to over her shoulder. Glancing behind her, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. "No, the trial by combat was fair and just. I had no idea she wished to challenge me."_

 _The Elder was shaking slightly, and her hands were curled into tight balls. Bayonetta noted that it wasn't from anger._

 _It was from fear._

 _Her eyes still kept darting over her shoulder. "Well, _, as an Umbran Witch of this clan, I-"_

 _She never got to finish. The room rocked from a massive explosion outside. The guards ran in, wide eyes._

" _Mistress!" The middle one sounded terrified. "The Lumen Sages have attacked, just as you predicted!"_

 _The Lumen Sages had attacked them? This was unheard of. Sure, the clans weren't exactly the tightest of allies recently, but this was unprecedented._

" _Gather the coven." The Elder stood up, taking charge. "We need to defend ourselves, and the Eye if need be." Turning to her, her eyes hardened. "Go find Jeanne, and stay with her."_

 _Nodding, she ran out of the room._

"That fateful day led us into three months of conflict." The Elder was staring at her. "We defeated the Lumen Sages, but their propaganda had turned the mortals against us. They sacrificed themselves to allow the Lagunan to manifest inside Purgatorio and the mortal realm for the first time in thousands of years, and we were all slaughtered. All but you and Jeanne."

Bayonetta stayed silent, reflecting on the knowledge.

"Why did my child choose you?" She lamented. "If she had chosen anyone else, the Umbra clan would be still alive!"

"You're blaming me?" Bayonetta raised an eyebrow. "Now what did I do?"

"You becoming the bearer of the Left Eye was one half of the prophecy completed." The Elder was glaring again. "Something the Lumen could not stand, and we all perished from it!"

"You know, I've always wanted to punch that glare off your face." She growled. "You always looked at me with nothing but hate and contempt!"

"Because you were the impure child who should have never existed!" The Elder's voice was raising every syllable. "You were the centre of the calamity, and the cause of the strife that has plagued this world for five hundred years! You should consider yourself lucky that another impure child was never conceived, or this world and universe would be doomed!"

Summoning a wicked stomp, she tried to crush the prime antagonist of her childhood. The Elder merely teleported away, sighing.

"You will never be the Umbra Witch Jeanne was. You will never be able to wield the Eye. You will never escape this place!" And with that, she vanished.

Crying out with frustration, she summoned two fists and began to punch at the auditorium. Destroying half of it, she collapsed, breathing heavily.

"I hate you." She growled, a small trail of tears leaking from her eyes. "I HATE YOU!"

She vaguely heard the sounds of a battle in the background, but she was too frustrated and angry to care.

…

She found another courtyard from Vigrid nearby. This one was fractured and appeared to be floating like a cloud. Jumping from piece of rubble to another piece of rubble, she transformed into a crow and flew to the square.

Landing on it, she retransformed and looked around. In the centre of the courtyard stood a familiar winged man.

"Sephiroth?" She asked uncertainly. "How did you get here?"

"The same way you did." He turned to her. "We fell into a portal brought by the Auditio."

"But you were on the van, in the mortal realm." Something didn't add up. "You were still on the bridge even!"

He opened his mouth to reply. A gunshot rang out and he crumpled to ground, the illusion fading into a Joy. Bayonetta turned around, surprised, and grew even more surprised when she saw another Joy standing there, wisps of energy rising from its gun.

" _Wait!"_ The Joy held its hands up. " _We can explain!_ "

"You have a minute." She pulled out a gun and aimed it at its forehead. "Even though you killed this Joy here, you are still an angel. And I have better uses for angels then keeping them as pets."

" _You were being followed by this Joy, and we have been helping you throughout this realm. We broke the illusion at the fountain, killed the Joy and have been holding at bay any curious angels that might try to take your soul for themselves!"_ It dropped its guns, them disappearing in a flash of light. " _We've been paying attention for you as long as we can here, hoping we can meet you."_

"Funny. That's exactly what someone who will stab me in the back would say." She cocked the gun. "How can I tell you aren't lying?"

" _I can't prove it, but you can't prove me wrong either."_ The Joy smirked. Bayonetta smirked and let the gun fall back into Inferno. " _And we can help you out of this place."_

"I like your attitude." She put a hand on her hip and studied the angel. "You've been wanting to meet me? I really must be a celebrity of sorts."

" _In Paradiso, you are._ " The Joy grew serious. " _Most of them want you to take the power of the Left Eye so you can help reawaken Jubileus._ "

"I've been hearing an awful lot about this Jubileus." She gestured to the Joy to follow her. "What is a Jubileus, and why should I care?"

" _Jubileus is the God of Creation, the main deity of the mortal realm, and is the only deity of Paradiso. There is a prophecy to awaken her, but some of us in Paradiso do not want this to happen."_

"You don't want your God to rise again?" She glanced at it.

" _Jubileus promised that whenever it was to be awakened, it would be a time of great crisis, where the universe needs to be remade._ " The Joy explained. " _As you can tell, the universe is not in great danger, and it is our actual purpose as denizens of the light to make sure this never needs to happen until the time is right._ "

"Obviously not, according to the angels I've met."

" _Those are misguided. The last of the Lumen Sages has corrupted our teachings, and those who strive for the truth only can obtain it._ "

It clicked for her. "The Father is at the centre of this?"

" _Yes._ " It nodded. " _That man has meddled with too many things; the corruption of the Lagunan is but one of them._ "

"Why are you helping me?" She asked. "Shouldn't you try to kill me, since I am apparently key to this resurrection?"

" _We believe all life is not inherently evil._ " It answered. " _Everyone should be given a chance._ "

"What is your name?"

" _We don't have one. Angels are not named, only classified into the spheres._ " The Joy answered. " _We only live to serve the Dea, not ourselves. A name gives us too much purpose._ "

"You haven't named yourself?" Bayonetta studied it. "You aren't like other angels."

" _We do not think ourselves worthy of a name yet._ " It shook its head. " _Until our purpose has been met, whatever that may be._ "

"Charming. Now, you know the way out of this place? I have friends that probably have no idea what they are doing back in the mortal realm." She looked around the square, pausing in her walk.

" _The only active portal into and out of Paradiso is near what the humans call Vigrid Airport._ " It pointed off into the distance. " _It's that way._ "

"Lead the way." She smiled. At least she wasn't going to wander Paradiso forever.

A roar filled the air. Summoning their weapons, Bayonetta paused as Fortitudo landed in front of them.

"You again!?" She exclaimed. "I killed you, didn't I?"

" _The Cardinal Virtues always exist. This is but a shell, but if left to grow, it will cease being a Courage and become the Bringer of Flame._ " The Joy took a stance, mirroring hers. " _It will stop at nothing to prove itself._ "

" _Ahh, Bayonetta. You have found our little traitor. That is two stones for the price of one, and the perfect way to prove to Sapientia that I am the worthy holder of the name Fortitudo!_ " The angel boomed, looking at the pair with contempt.

"I'm sorry, did you assume I would lose?" She tilted her head, scoffing. "You are missing out on the fact I beat that ugly Auditio by myself, and this time I have a friend."

" _Still as arrogant as ever._ " A familiar, calm voice said. A Temperentia-like angel floated up from behind the pair, its fingers making erratic movements. " _I, a lowly Temperance, will hold the mantle of Temperentia by the dawn of the morrow._ "

The Joy circled around and stood back to back with her. " _We'll take Temperance, do you have Courage?_ "

"Sweetie, don't ask; assume I do." She grinned. This was becoming a little too familiar and she assumed it was due to Jeanne. "Then you won't be disappointed."

" _FABOAN!_ " Temperance had enough, locking its fingers together and firing shells at the pair. Courage had followed suit and was launching flame from its mouth. Leaping to the left, she activated witchwalk and jumped onto the wall. Running, she fired her guns at its eyes, as she did with its predecessor. It roared in annoyance as several bullets found their mark. Channelling her power the guns, she used a bullet climax to send a stream of magically charged bullets into its eyes.

The Joy had transformed its guns into a pair of daggers and was using them to scale the arm of the Temperance. The colossal angel was trying to brush it off, but the Joy was far too fast and nimble for it to even touch it. It leaped onto the top and had retransformed the daggers into the guns. Opening fire, it launched round after round into the torso, each bullet metres closer to its brain.

Not to be outdone, Bayonetta jumped into the main head of Courage, and stayed low as its two other heads slammed around, trying to find her.

 _Hey, Butterfly._ She mentally asked her patron. _Remember that giant chainsaw? Can I have it?_

Her patron's laughter was infectious. Pulling out the massive six metres long chainsaw, she switched it on, brandished it and slammed it into the main head, chewing through it and slicing the Auditio wannabe in two.

She jumped down and landed as the halves fell apart and watched as the joy landed opposite her as Temperance fell from the sky behind her.

"Shall we continue on?" Bayonetta asked, still giggling from the chainsaw.

" _Put that thing away."_ The Joy looked at the massive weapon with repulsion. " _Then we can go._ "

Pouting, she let the chainsaw melt back into Inferno. "But I was having so much fun…"

They began to walk off in the direction they had originally set off in. It took about twenty steps before she got bored.

"Let's run." She said. "I want to stretch my legs, and it will get me out of here faster."

The Joy nodded. They began to jog, a slow and gentle gait. A strange clock tower took Bayonetta's eye, and she felt something strangely comforting about it.

"What's that?" She gestured with her head at it.

" _The Umbran Clocktower. The former sanctuary of the Umbran Witches._ " It answered, looking at her with concern.

Bayonetta felt nauseous again. A memory swarmed into her mind, and she was barely aware of the Joy scooping her up before she fell to the ground.

…

 _Bayonetta and Jeanne heard the Elders convening as they ran to them._

"… _Fortitudo and Iustitia have been confirmed sealed away."_

" _That makes two unable to be reborn. What of the others?"_

" _Temperentia has destroyed the Umbran Clocktower." Jeanne announced their presence and the five witches turned to the pair. "Sapientia is currently assaulting the training grounds as we speak."_

" _The clocktower?!" One cried out. "All hope is lost!"_

" _Silence!" The Umbran Elder stood up. "As long as the Eye, our precious Eye, has not fallen into the hands of another, then we have not yet lost."_

 _She turned to Bayonetta and stiffened. "You are still the wielder. You must get to safety."_

" _Mummy!" Jeanne froze. "You don't mean that…"_

" _My daughter, the time has come. Our time has come." The room shook as Sapientia launched another volley of missiles into the citadel. "We will hold them off for as long as possible. You need to take _ and get her out of here."_

" _Mummy…" She stepped forward. The Elder glared at her, her eyes beginning to fill with tears._

" _No Jeanne!" Another rumble caused cracks to form at the entrance. "You must go!"_

 _Swallowing, she nodded. "I love you Mummy."_

" _We will meet again in the next life. You must do everything in your power to protect the Eye." The Elder's palm glowed as a section of the wall retracted. "Now go! And don't look back."_

 _Running into the tunnel, they only heard the grinding of stone as the passageway closed behind them._

" _Stop!" Jeanne ran into a side room and pulled her in. "I need to know…"_

 _She understood what she was talking about. They stayed quiet, listening. There was a massive crash as Sapientia destroyed his way into the citadel, and they heard the battle cries of various witches, all the untrained and newly appointed ones who had been held back from the assault from the Lagunan._

 _They lasted seconds._

"Where is it!?" _The Auditio boomed. "_ Where is the Eye!? _"_

" _The Eye is gone to somewhere safe, where you won't find it!" The Elder's voice carried well. "Cease this slaughter!"_

 _The Auditio roared, and the Umbran Elder's cried out in fury, summoning their Infernals._

 _Bayonetta grabbed Jeanne's hand and began to stroke it with her thumbs, trying to calm the distressed blonde down._

 _The Audito spoke clearly in Enochian, and then several massive explosions were heard. The screams of the witches carried themselves over the sounds; then they were silent._

" _No!" Jeanne screamed. "Mummy!"_

 _Pulling her into a hug, she comforted her friend._

"Find it! It can't have gone far! _" Sapientia ordered, and the sounds of stone grinding and cracking were heard once again._

" _We can't stay here, Jeanne." Bayonetta separated with her and pointed back to the passageway. "We have to go."_

 _Wiping the tears from her face, she nodded. Running, they flew down the tunnel in a matter of minutes. Exiting, they found themselves in the Umbran training grounds._

 _Dead witches lay on the floor, strewn about like forgotten dolls._

" _We are all that's left…" Jeanne choked on the words. Bayonetta scanned the bodies and fell into despair as she spotted one._

" _Mummy?!" She ran to the fallen witch and knelt by her, grabbing her hand. "Mummy, wake up!"_

 _The eyes flickered open weakly. "_..."_

" _I'm still here Mummy." She put on a brave front. "We can still get you out, we just need a-"_

" __, don't." Her mother placed her hand weakly on her lips. "You need to keep the Eye safe, no matter what."_

" _Mummy, don't say that!" She felt tears prickling in her eyes. "You can still live!"_

" _My time has come." She smiled. "Khepri will treat me right…"_

 _Her hand dropped to her chest. Fiddling with a pocket, she pulled out her tube of lipstick. "Take this, _. When you meet him again, this is the proof he will need to know who…who you are…"_

" _Who, Mummy?" She grabbed the tube. "Stay with me Mummy, I don't have anyone else!"_

" _Jeanne will take care of you… She is a good girl…" Her mother's eyes closed, and her pulse died._

 _Her emotions went numb. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Jeanne was cursing behind her, but she didn't care._

 _Mummy was dead._

" _You traitorous Sage!" She heard her say, but she stared blankly at her mother's corpse._

 _What was the point?_

" _ALALARE A COREDAZODIZODA!" A male voice cried from behind them. Golden chains surrounded her mother's corpse, and it was snatched into the air behind her. Turning, she saw the last Lumen Sage in battle uniform, his long silver hair billowing out in the wind, and his golden half-mask staring at her. She stared back at him, not caring if he got the Eye or not._

 _Mummy was dead._

" _My, my… The Eye, within my grasp." The Lumen said, a smile permeating his words. "Jeanne; isn't this enough bloodshed for you?"_

" _OXEX RACLIR!" Jeanne shouted, and then broke the summon spell as it began. Gomorrah roared as it was unleashed into the world, untethered by the witch._

" _You fool!" The Sage screamed as the Infernal began to lumber towards them. "What have you done?"_

" _Bought time." She snarled. Grabbing out a small knife, she twisted and stabbed Bayonetta in the chest._

 _It was relatively painless. She gasped as the blade entered her, her eyes looking to Jeanne's in betrayal. The red witch was whispering something, but she didn't know what. Her memories were fading, her sight was fading; everything was fading._

 _She crumpled into unconsciousness, and into a coma._

…

Bayonetta awoke in the arms of the Joy, bobbing up and down on its movements.

" _We know what you saw._ " It said simply as it ran.

"Are they memories?" She asked as she slipped out of its arms and started to run beside it. "I've been trying to figure that out, but I can't exactly place them."

" _Yes. The spell Jeanne cast on you was supposed to seal away your memories, but she did not complete the necessary incantation and only suppressed them."_ The Joy nodded. " _They will all be back soon."_

The pair stopped running and stood still. Bayonetta took the time to look around and observe the area. It seemed familiar, and she certainly hoped it was.

" _We are nearly there._ " It announced. She finally recognised the area they were in and smiled with relief. She almost looked down to spot Cereza, but caught herself. The Joy caught her small movement and smiled.

" _You care for the child, don't you?_ " It looked over at her. " _You miss her."_

"No!" She answered far too quickly. "She is a nuisance and cries far too much for me to care. I certainly don't miss her."

" _Are you saying that because you want to, or because you want to hear it?_ " It pressed onwards.

"Why are you asking anyway? My personal life is not up for discussion." She tried to end it then and there.

" _That child has been displaced from time._ "

"I figured, since she mentioned witches and looks like something out of a sixteenth century cosplay event." She raised an eyebrow. "Why does that matter?"

" _Don't you think you can change the future by affecting the past?_ " The Joy folded its arms.

"You know who she is, don't you?" Bayonetta turned. "Why is she so important?"

" _We do know. You will learn the truth at the right time. Telling you now will cause too many problems that even we don't know the consequences of._ " It gestured at her to continue walking. " _We do promise that anything that affects her will affect the present._ "

"Aren't you fucking cryptic…" She hissed. "I don't want to talk about anything personal with you. Sorry."

"Will you talk about it with me?"

She rolled her eyes and looked at 'Sephiroth'. "I still know you aren't him. Now change back."

'Sephiroth' shook its head. "You won't talk about anything with me, so we'll try him instead. Pretend."

"I…" She was torn.

"You once told Sephiroth that the best way to help yourself with problems is to talk them out." It pointed out.

"Yeah… But I don't have any problems and that's final!" She turned on her heel.

The illusion fell away and the Joy slumped. " _You've hurt all three of them; can't you admit that?_ "

"I haven't hurt Luka, Sephiroth never listens or learns fast enough to be able to keep up with anybody, and Cereza is an unwanted problem!" She yelled at it. "I have not!"

" _Luka was dragged into your problems, and he is only a mortal amongst you two super human beings; one being the prime suspect of the murder of his father and the other being a mind-wiped experiment who knows nothing but pain and hurt for most of his life. Sephiroth has never had much encouragement, or anything resembling an ally, and all he wants is for you to accept him. It nearly broke him, the last time you were here. Cereza has always been shunned and unwanted; do you wish to push her away as well, the only person of the three she most looks up to?"_ The Joy levelled its chin.

Bayonetta faltered. "How do you know that?"

" _Remember, we can look inside your mind and manipulate emotions. We've been doing that in our surveillance._ " It smirked. " _And we did it to them as well._ "

She closed her eyes. What was she thinking? Listening to an angel, of all things? She shouldn't. Her brain told her that it was her natural enemy, and it was only trying to get her guard down, so it could strike.

But her heart was saying otherwise. It had a point; she had treated all three horribly at any one moment in time, and she had never cared to apologise, or had the courage to do so. If they weren't missing her, they were probably relieved that she was gone, or in the case of Luka, still hating her.

"What should I do?" She whispered.

" _Huh?_ " It asked, leaning towards her to catch what she said.

"You're the one who wanted me to admit I was a bitch." She crossed her arms. "So what do you want me to do?"

" _You could start by treating them better._ " It smiled slightly. " _That's all we can say, as the rest should come pretty easily to you_."

Bayonetta spotted the portal outside of the strange circular room from before. "That looks like my way out."

" _Yes._ " The Joy nodded, its demeanour changing.

"Do you want to come with us? You would be very helpful in the travel to Isla Del Sol." She asked, already guessing the answer.

" _We can't, unfortunately. To manifest in Purgatorio, angels need a sacrifice from a mortal or to be summoned by a Lumen Sage or Auditio. Manifesting in the mortal realm is another matter entirely and requires the resurrection to start._ " It shook its head. " _Even if we wanted to, we couldn't._ "

She nodded in understanding. She held her hand out. "May we meet again."

It accepted her handshake. " _We look forward to it._ "

Smiling briefly, she walked through the portal and back into Vigrid Airport.


	12. Chapter 11: Travelling as a Trio

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything from Bayonetta or Final Fantasy 7_

"Shit!" Sephiroth had nothing but horror running through his mind as the bridge exploded from something crashing into it. Tearing his way into Purgatorio, he watched in terror as a massive angel walked into a portal to Paradiso, Bayonetta falling through it as it closed.

"Fuck it all to hell!" She was as good as gone. Pulling himself back into the mortal realm, he moved the last of the cars onto the remains of the bridge and slipped back into the van.

"What's the situation?" Luka asked, his eyes never straying from the road.

"The angels have retreated." He said grimly, his voice hoarse.

"Where is Mummy?" Cereza had turned to face the back, looking at the man with worry. "Where is Mummy?!"

"She's gone…" He said quietly. Cereza instantly teared up and began sobbing.

"What!?" Luka turned to face him. "She is gone? What do you mean?"

"She fell into Paradiso after an angel attacked." He whispered to himself, repeating his sentiment from earlier. "She is as good as gone…"

He held his hand out and telekinetically grabbed Cereza. Pulling her to him, he held her tightly as she cried into his shoulder.

"Fuck!" The driver echoed his sentiment as well. "What do we do now?"

"Get off the highway." Sephiroth looked ahead. "Take the next exit."

"We aren't going to Isla Del Sol?" Luka looked at him in the mirror. "We are almost there!"

The winged man saw the towering Ithavoll building in the distance, and the rest of the spiral island spread around it. He trembled at the sight and held onto the girl a little tighter. "We can't. We wouldn't survive."

"If you say so…" Luka grimaced as he took the exit.

…

"So, big shot. What's the plan?" Luka crossed his arms and stared at the winged man. Sephiroth adjusted the sleeping Cereza and looked away uncomfortably. The child had cried herself into a deep slumber, and neither adult was comfortable with waking her yet.

"I don't know." They were off the highway and were currently in a small hamlet. The locals had not bothered with the van and weren't the slightest bit curious about it and its contents. Sephiroth was thinking hard, and thinking fast. He didn't know what to do.

"Great! This is just great!" Luka threw his hands up, visibly frustrated. "You dragged me into this mess, and now we are stuck in the middle of nowhere with a child of all fucking things! Isn't this just perfect!"

"You aren't." He whispered.

"What? I'm stuck here with you! What part of that do you not understand?"

"You were dragged here by Bayonetta. You can leave now." Sephiroth said quietly. "You certainly don't have to stay with us anymore; go back and re-join the rest of humanity and forget about this mess."

"Like hell I am." Luka shook his head. "I'm involved in this now, and it will find me the answer to my Father's death."

"You're staying?" He squinted at the man, suspicious.

"Yes. I was this close," He held up a finger and a thumb to emphasise his point. "To figuring out proof as to whether Bayonetta killed my father. Now, I think there is something a lot bigger going on, and it's all at the centre of Isla Del Sol."

"Why the change of heart?" Sephiroth could hardly believe his luck.

"My father's last case was to look into the Ithavoll IT company, and the elusive CEO of it." Luka began to pace. "And once he made a breakthrough in a previous case and found Bayonetta's coffin, he died not long after. I always thought it was just a coincidence; but now it might be not, ever since I found you."

His questioning look was enough for Luka to continue. "My father had apparently caught wind of unethical practices taking place inside of the company and was sent to investigate. What he found was human experimentation, and a whole load of missing people from around the globe. He was going to report it, but he was hired by the CEO of Ithavoll to investigate the Umbra Witches and found the coffin whilst trying to gather more evidence. You are the evidence that my father would have most desperately wanted."

"I was taken in for… the process twenty years ago." He frowned. "His death must have been around the same time."

Luka nodded. "I figured you were a part of that experiment ever since you slammed me into the wall back at the Vigrid Hotel. And since my father mysteriously dies after discovering that there was something worse than unethical shit going down at Ithavoll, I'm beginning to believe the theory you have with his death."

"You think it was inadvertent?"

"Yep, and one hundred percent preventable." Luka stopped pacing and faced him. "Boy, do I feel horrible now about Bayonetta."

Both men went quiet at the mention of their missing, fourth member. Turning his attention back to the problem at hand, he began to ponder. What would Bayonetta do?

 _She would continue onwards to Isla Del Sol._ Khepri answered. _Obviously, you can't do that. However, you do know where an active gate to Paradiso is_.

His eyes widened at the implication. _We can get her back that way?_

 _Certainly._ His patron answered. _Now, head back to the hotel. You will all need the rest._

"Tell that to her when she is back." Sephiroth said, gesturing to the van. "Shall we continue onwards?"

"Where are we going to go?" Luka asked as he retook the driver's seat.

"Back to Vigrid Airport. With any luck the portal to Paradiso there is still open, and I might be able to find her." He climbed into the back. "And we can get better transport while we are at it too. But first, we will touch base with the Hotel for the nights."

…

They returned to the Vigrid hotel, this time asking for a smaller room. The managers frowned in annoyance at Luka and Cereza, but gave them the keys to the 3rd room of the second floor. Thanking them, the duo left. The management was amazed, but unsurprised, when one newly replaced vase fell to the ground and shattered, as if an invisible wind pushed it.

…

"Bubby, can I play with you?" Cereza shyly asked him as he stepped out of Purgatorio. Sephiroth looked at her with a mixture of amusement and surprise.

"What do you want to do, Cereza?" He asked as he observed the timid girl.

"Mummy and Daddy never played with me often." Cereza looked sad. "Especially once they took Mummy away."

"That never answered my question." He answered, dropping down to one knee. "It doesn't matter how Mummy or Daddy played with you; what do you want to do?"

"I don't know…" Cereza looked down. "I don't know what is fun."

"Don't you have friends back home?" He lifted her chin. "What do you do with them?"

"I don't have any friends…" Her voice was cracking. "They all hate me, and they all hurt me, and no one ever plays with me!"

"What do you do then? When you're on your own, and have time for yourself?" He felt fury growing in him at her words. What force could drive people against this sweet girl?

"I go to my room and sleep." She answered, the tears pooling in her eyes. "So I can dream of Mummy and Daddy and being happy."

Sephiroth closed his eyes, trying not to lash out at something. He opened his eyes to see Luka standing there with a horrified look on his face.

"Cerezita, come here." Luka squatted as the girl walked over to him. "Is that really what you do?"

"Yes, Uncle Luka." She nodded. "Cheshire helps me." She held the doll out, and then cuddled it.

"Cereza." Sephiroth stood up. "We both promise you, that no matter what, you will never fall asleep unhappy again."

Luka nodded. "As long as we are around, you will be happy."

"You… mean that?" Cereza's eyes began to flow with tears. "I won't be sad again?"

"We promise." They both smiled at the girl. Running to Luka, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Uncle Luka and Bubby!"

"It's no problem." Luka smiled and hugged her back. "Now, do you want to watch some TV?"

"What's tee vee?" The word sounded foreign to her.

"You don't know what television is?" Luka asked, surprised. "You are in for a real treat, then."

Scooping her up, he walked over to the couch, Sephiroth opting to stand by the table. Sitting down, he grabbed the remote and switched on the screen.

"Whoa!" Cereza's eyes went wide. "This is so cool! Are those real people?"

"Just an image of them." Luka noticed that the local news report was about to start. "It's amazing technology, isn't it?"

He glanced in confusion at the winged man. Sephiroth shook his head, clearly sending a message to talk about it later. Returning his attention to the screen, Luka stared in shock at the headline.

" _Welcome to the seven o'clock Vigrid news. Our top headline tonight is the destruction of the Route 666 highway bridge."_ The female presenter started. " _The bridge collapsed a little after midday today. Engineers are stumped that the state-of-art bridge fell apart the way it did; many have commented that it was not natural causes that caused it to fall. Witnesses say they saw a man dressed in black with a single black wing on the bridge at this time; however both sides are split on whether he was destroying the bridge or rescuing those who were trapped."_

"Well, shit." Luka heard Sephiroth say with sarcasm. Cereza was staring, listening intently.

"Is the lady talking about you, Bubby?" She asked, turning to the winged man. He nodded and put a finger to his lips.

" _We here at Vigrid new believe that something occurred on this bridge, but not to the extent of what the witnesses describe. This man probably was a terrorist, not a supernatural being that is currently being described-"_

Sephiroth let out the breath he had been holding. Luka turned to him in confusion.

"Why are you relieved? You've been branded a terrorist here!"

"They don't see me for what I truly am." He smiled slightly. "Which means it probably won't attract the attention of the Father, and by extension the forces of Paradiso."

"I suppose that is a positive…" Luka said as the reporter changed the subject and onto the next headline.

…

The two men at across at the small table from each other. Cereza had been put to bed not more than five minutes ago, and now they were both thinking in the silence between the two.

"I think she has been brought here from the past." Luka's head snapped up as Sephiroth spoke. "Too much evidence points to that."

"Can you even do that?" Luka asked. "Pull someone out of time?"

"Theoretically, yes." He answered. "Khepri says it is, but I think accounting for the butterfly effect would be hard to achieve without fucking up the present too much."

"Khepri?"

"Ah, sorry. I have a demon inside my head." He tapped his temple.

"You what?!" Luka stared at him in horror. "Like the Exorcist?" He leaned forward, suddenly curious. "What's it like?"

"Kind of, and I don't know what that is." He pondered for a second. "In order to truly understand what I am talking about, you'd have to experience her, and I don't know if I can do that."

 _Yes you can._ Khepri interrupted. _And you could summon me into mortal realm as well._

 _I can do that?_ He asked. _I'd rather not do that, if I can help it._

 _What, you are afraid of me running amok and doing horrible things?_ She snorted. _Why, I'm only really interested in seeing who you are, and who this Luka fellow is._

 _You don't know me?_ He was perplexed. _You are in my head, right?_

 _It's easy to know your contract in person._ Khepri sounded amused. _Normally, witches are bound to the infernal contract during a ceremony where we meet in person, in order for the Infernal to figure out whether the binding will be worth it. We haven't met, since you aren't a witch by any conventional means, yet I'm bound to you._

 _Makes sense._ His gaze hardened. _You better not cause any trouble._

He noticed Luka staring at him with confusion. Are you alright? You kinda spaced out "

"PDEE BARMA!" His eyes starting glowing as he waved his palm at the nearby wall, opening a portal to Inferno. Luka jumped from his seat, cursing at the sight. "What the fuck are you doing?"

From the portal stepped out a tall, slender woman. She was dressed in a revealing green dress; her skin was a greyish green and a strange scarab-based headdress adorned her. On the back of her palms were more scarab beetles, and her eyes glinted red with amusement. Four insectile wings spread out from her back, and they fluttered around, getting used to the new realm. Waving, Sephiroth dismissed the portal and the fragment of Madama Khepri stood in front of them.

"Well…" The Infernal looked around, her hands on her hips. "The world has changed a lot since the last time I was here."

Luka stared in utter fascination at the demon. "What are you?"

"I am Madama Khepri, the Protector of Time." She answered, drawing herself to her full height. "I am also the Infernal contracted with Sephiroth here." She turned to the man in question. "And my, my… you are a looker."

Sephiroth's eyes bulged out and he blushed. "What?"

"You're a witch?" Luka looked at him in surprise. "I thought only women could be witches?"

"You are correct, young mortal." Khepri answered. "He is not a witch, not in the usual sense."

"Khepri's last contracted witch's soul was bound into her body by the Father, with promises of a greater vessel to be forcefully contracted with." Sephiroth continued for her, still blushing. "I was spliced with her cells and took her contract on."

"It just took the bloody Sage five hundred years to do so." Khepri pulled a chair up and sat down. "I do have the gift of foresight and knew that I would get a new vessel eventually, but the waiting time was ridiculous!"

"So, you are a witch? In a weird way?" Luka seemed to be getting used to the fact there was a demon at the table.

"Not at all." Sephiroth smiled. "I can't do any witch powers."

"He is right." She confirmed. "His contract with me is limited due to most of it still laying with Rosa."

"I can't believe it…" Luka finally cracked. "I'm chatting with a demon at a table! What has become of my life?"

Khepri laughed. "I still can't believe I'm in the mortal realm again. It was an event that was yet to come to pass, but it happened sooner than I expected. Now, why did you summon me here? You wanted to ask me questions." She smiled and leaned back. "Go ahead."

"You're inside his head?" Luka started. "Like all the time?"

"Mhmm." She answered. "As part of the contract, we can have conversations with each other, he can learn from my nearly infinite knowledge, as well as storage of items in my realm."

"All of that for free?" He squinted. "There has to be a catch, right?"

"His soul is mine once he dies." She answered simply. "I was promised a soul from the Father, and now I'm going to get the best I have available to me."

"You're ok with going to hell?" Luka turned to Sephiroth, his eyes full of worry.

"It's not like I have much of a choice." He replied with an eyeroll.

"You worry too much." Khepri's eyes shined with amusement. "I treat my contracted well, especially if they treat me well."

"You protect time." Sephiroth stated, returning her look of amusement with seriousness. "Can you see into the future and past?"

"Yes, I can." Khepri nodded. "The future is shown as events with no context, whereas the past is clear to me."

"Who is Cereza?" Luka asked, understanding his line of questioning. "Why does the Father want her?"

Khepri hesitated. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Luka threw his arms back in frustration.

She folded her arms. "If I tell you, in all the futures I've seen, you lose the inevitable clash with the Father. If the identity of that girl remains hidden, you win in about a third of the futures I have viewed."

"All you've seen?" Luka leaned forward. "There is a chance that we won't lose, then-"

"That chance sounds miniscule and not worth satisfying our curiosity." Sephiroth interrupted. "What if we just killed the girl?"

"What!?" The mortal turned to him in shock and fury. "You wouldn't dare!"

"You really shouldn't" Khepri's eyes narrowed at her contracted human. "Ending her will only end you and destroy this timeline as you know it."

Sephiroth looked to the side. "Will I still be this… thing?"

"Yes. If anything, there will be more people exposed to the Father's run of experiments." The Infernal understood why he was asking, and leaned back, her eyes not hiding her impressed look. "You just got me to admit that she is crucial to this present; clever, very clever…"

"That's all I needed to know." Sephiroth leaned back and laced his fingers together.

"You weren't going to kill her?" Luka let out a huge sigh. "I'm travelling with a bunch of wannabe or actual murderers…"

Neither of the two replied, opting to stare at him blankly.

"Madama." Luka spoke, addressing the Infernal with a small tone. "Did Bayonetta kill my father?"

"She was the catalyst that saw to his death." Khepri answered. "It was inevitable, regardless of when or who threw the killing blow."

"That didn't answer my question…" Luka muttered.

"You will find the answer in due time." Khepri smiled. "And it will come with a few bonuses if you do."

"Let me guess; you're not going to tell me what they are." Luka stood up. "I'm retiring for the night, and you should as well. It's going to be a big day tomorrow."

"I don't need sleep." Sephiroth lied, holding a hand up to stop Khepri's questioning look. "I'll be up for a while."

"Alrighty then." Luka nodded. "I guess you'll be seeing us both in the morning."

He walked off, leaving the pair alone.

"Why did you lie?" She asked once the bedroom door closed. "You are still a human; sleep is one of your basic functions."

"I can't sleep knowing she is out there." He answered, lying yet again. "And she is coming for me."

"Ah, Jeanne." She nodded, ignoring his second lie. "She tried to make a contract with me once; I did not accept, for I foresaw a greater contract in the future."

"She is a curious case, that witch." She continued, noting his silence. "Her future is murky, but overall, it mostly turns out well for her."

"Her future turns out well for her?" His eyes flashed with anger and worry. "That's reassuring for me!"

"Many of them involve you." She giggled, her eyes glinting. "It's a perfectly content and acceptable future of my contract."

"The only future I can see her being happy in is one where I am in chains at his feet again, ready to be her plaything." He retorted.

"Didn't you tell Luka something important?" Khepri placed a hand onto her chin. "Don't assume until you have all the facts?"

"Twenty years of pain from her will teach me a lot about her." He answered flatly. "If she can be happy without someone's head sitting on a pike, or some poor soul being dragged into their experiment, I will marry her!"

Khepri laughed. He frowned at the Infernal. "What's so funny?"

"Don't you worry your little head about it." She stopped laughing and smiled. "I am surprised you haven't asked for your future, or asked about your past?"

"What is my future?" He asked, realising he could ask. "I don't feel comfortable about my past until I can remember it myself."

Khepri's eyes glazed over as she starting to withdraw into herself. She started frowning, her features etching themselves into a scowl.

"Huh…" Her face cleared, and she grinned. "You are interesting."

"Interesting in what way?" He asked, immediately suspicious.

"I can see you in other people's futures, but when I look for yours, you don't have one." She telekinetically pulled two cups towards them, filling one with water. "Imagine this cup being someone else." Summoning a teabag, she placed it into the water, darkening it instantly. "They have a future, but it is dark, murky and somewhat difficult to discern properly. Now you, on the other hand." She placed the empty cup on the table and put the full cup into it. "You exist in this person's future but have nothing of your own."

"How is that possible?" He asked, trying to comprehend her words.

"There is two ways: One, you exist outside of time at some point. Two, you are a rare futureless person, and I've only found a handful of those people" She put up two fingers, and then removed one. "You aren't futureless, as you exist in futures of other people. Which leaves just the one option."

"How does one exist outside of time?" He asked, perplexed.

"You cause a paradox or something." She shrugged. "No one has ever caused one yet, so it's only a theory on my half."

She glanced at the small window. "Now, unless you have more questions, I'd best be off before the Lagunan sense me and you."

"I have two; what is the name of my weapon, and why are you so nice?" He gestured at her. "From my teachings of Infernals, most of them you don't want to cross, and a contract with them is as good as death."

"Your katana's name is Shuraba." His demonic side howled with recognition of the name. "And as for me, I'm nice because I don't see the point in being a stereotypical demon. Why be a bitch to those I've made contracts with when I know whether they will end up in my grasp anyway?"

He nodded in understanding. Eyes glowing, he reopened the portal to Inferno. "Thank you."

"For what?" Her eyes narrowed at him as she stood up. "Talking?"

"Yes." He smiled. "We all need a dose of reality once in a while."

She laughed. "Aren't you easy to please…"

Walking towards the portal, she stopped and turned around. "You might want to give up your pacifist ways. Just saying…"

He nodded. He had planned to anyway; simply being defensive now would end up with the trio getting swarmed. She stepped through, and he closed the portal after her.

And he was alone again. His anxiety began to flare, and he began to worry about the coming day.

Boy, he wished she was still here so they didn't have to be the leader.

 _Hey, I'm still here!_ Her voice cried indignantly. _Just because I left physically doesn't mean I left mentally!_

He laughed, forgetting his issues. _If you say so._

 _Go to the roof._ She remembered that he didn't particularly want to sleep. _You can practice up there._

Opening the window, he climbed out and up to the roof of the hotel. Summoning the blade, he looked at it with reverence.

"Shuraba…" He whispered, and the blade glowed slightly in recognition. Giving it a few swings, he dismissed it and turned his focus onto his own power. Practicing spells seemed like they would do far too much damage to the roof to be worth practicing. What could he try?

 _Teleportation._ Khepri supplied. _You being able to successfully open portals to other realms should mean you can move yourself small distances. Theoretically. It's the same concept._

"I can try that?" He said aloud. There wasn't really any harm in trying, right?

Focussing, he imagined himself on the other side of the rooftop. Feeding the thought energy, he felt the world shift and his vision immediately changed to the other side of the roof.

And he promptly threw up over the side of the building.

 _Well done!_ She sounded sarcastic, yet proud.

He closed his eyes as he tried to stop his stomach from churning. He had done it! He could teleport and vomit over his enemies. What a joke.

 _Maybe you should've been named the Vulture._ She said, laughing at her own joke.

"Shut up." He gritted his teeth together and focussed on teleporting again.

It took him 3 hours of constant dry heaving, but eventually he could teleport without upsetting his own stomach. Taking a seat on the roof, he stared at the stars, placing a hand onto his sore and upset stomach.

"I hope you are doing well, Bayonetta." He said. "And I hope Paradiso is treating you well."

He was unaware of the presence watching him.

…

Jeanne hid in the shadows of the neighbouring building and stared at the winged man sitting on the roof in plain sight, furious with his stupidity. She could pull out a gun and shoot him and he wouldn't know. He wouldn't even think to know that someone was watching him. She had sensed an Infernal presence on the roof about 5 minutes ago, and a lingering one inside the hotel. Climbing the walls of the opposite building using witchwalk, she observed Sephiroth, of all people, to be out in the open.

"I want to be normal again." His voice carried to her. "I don't like these powers, and I don't trust myself with them."

She frowned and squinted at him. _What was he on about?_

"I wish I could just let them go." He said. "My feelings. I feel too strongly about things, and you know it."

"Who on earth are you speaking to?" She whispered to herself, leaning closer.

"I know what you said." He argued. "I just want to crush her skull and tear her apart for what she has done to me!"

That was most definitely aimed at her. Jeanne smiled at his temper; he could still be persuaded to be blinded with anger.

"She will suffer for what she has done to me." His face hardened. "But first, to Vigrid airport and potentially the recovery of Bayonetta."

He blushed. "No, I don't like her in that way. She isn't someone I can see me having a future with."

His face twisted into confusion. "What do you mean, good?"

He shook his head, and then disappeared. Jeanne blinked in surprise. He could teleport? That made things a lot more interesting. And he was stupid enough to tell her his plans, so she could get a head start on returning to that god forsaken place again.

"If he can do that…" She spoke to herself. "What can't he do?"


	13. Chapter 12: Justice

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything from the Bayonetta series or the Sephiroth name._

The trio arrived at the airport mid-afternoon. Parking the van outside of the forest the east, they began to trek towards the base, entering the forest without much complaint.

"They have made good headway with the repairs." Sephiroth said as they walked. They had initially tried to enter the same way they had left, but a few glares and construction fences had convinced them to find another route. "Considering we- I somewhat destroyed the base two days."

"Why did you do that?" Luka asked, his eyes staying on the wandering Cereza in front of them. "Or rather, who caused you to do that?"

"The angel we encountered was called Temperentia, and he was one of Auditio." Sephiroth answered, his voice growling slightly.

"An Auditio?" Luka looked at him in surprise. "Aren't those the four leaders of the Lagunan religion? Well, the ones below Jubelius."

"How do you know that?" He asked sharply, turning to .

"It's the main religion here in Vigrid. I grew up learning all about it." Luka glanced at him in confusion. "Didn't you?"

"No, I did not." He answered, frowning. "Either way, this particular Auditio was the main driving force from Paradiso for the experiments the Father was undertaking. It tested me on more than one occasion himself, using angels to gauge my abilities."

"Why would angels allow this experimentation to occur?" Luka shook his head. "Aren't they supposed to be benevolent; aren't they supposed to be the good guys?"

"What is good? What is evil?" He answered. "Angels have caused me nothing but pain, yet my greatest ally has been a servant of a demon, and I am allied permanently with one as well? What do you make of that?"

"It just feels wrong." Luka returned to observing Cereza. "Demons and witches shouldn't be the good guys."

"Why do you think that, Uncle Luka?" Cereza turned to him, taking the lollipop he had given her out of her mouth.

"Well, witches normally do bad things for their demon, and demons always do bad things." Luka explained himself.

"But Mummy is a witch, and Mummy doesn't do bad things." She frowned. "She protects people from the monsters. When I grow up, I want to be strong like Mummy!"

"I don't know, Cereza." Luka shrugged. He was out of his element here. "I really don't know." His nose twitched. "That smell again?!"

Sephiroth immediately grew suspicious, and summoned Sharuba to his fist. Closing his eyes, he cursed at what he sensed. "They've found us."

Cereza ran to Luka and hid between his legs. Scooping her up, the man stared at him in surprise. "Who has found us?"

"The Lagunan." He answered as he opened a way into Purgatorio. Stepping through, he said two final words to the pair. "Find cover!"

Luka could only stare in astonishment as the trees and shrubbery began to sway and break unnaturally. A tree snapped in two and fell towards them.

"SHIT!" He cursed and ran to the side, letting the trunk fall. Crouching behind it, he looked over to see the same scene as before.

"What is going on?" He squinted at the clearing, trying to find a clue.

"Go Bubby!" Cereza seemed to know what was going on and was cheering on Sephiroth.

"How can you see?" Luka looked down at the girl.

"You need to open your eyes, Uncle Luka." She replied innocently.

"Gah! Forget about it."

She started thinking, and then looked at him with surprise. Taking off her glasses, she attempted to hand them to him. "Wear these."

"Cerezita, this is hardly time-"

"Uncle Luka! Wear my glasses!" She demanded, shoving them to his face.

"If you say so…" He placed them onto his nose, and nearly fell over in shock from the sight. Sephiroth was fighting two or three dozen strange, birdlike beings wielding various golden weapons. He was twisting and twirling, his katana defecting and cutting through each thing with ease. Ripping the glasses from his face, he stared at the now clear area with horror.

"What the fuck…" He placed the glasses back on to see one jumping at him, its eyes intent and ready to kill. Screaming, he shoved Cereza to the side and held his hands in front of him in a futile effort.

A gunshot rang out, and the thing went flying back, bleeding from the forehead. Turning around, he saw a tall, slender figure in black standing there, blowing the smoke from her gun.

…

"Must I say; hello boys?" Bayonetta smirked as the angelic host and Sephiroth turned to face her. "You are being awfully rude to my friends here, and I think I might have to punish you."

"Bayonetta…" He was looking at her with undisguised awe. She gave him a smile.

"Now, Darling, what did I say about getting distracted?" She scolded him, still smiling. The angels' starting chittering nervously amongst themselves, seemingly worried at this turn of events.

She was back, baby!

He understood her point and threw himself back at the Affinities. The Applaud was staring at her in shock, its staff held low.

" _Impossible…_ " It whispered. " _You were banished into the realm of light! You can't have escaped!_ "

"I've always made making the impossible my goal in life." She winked at it. "Now, you and me; shall we try the impossible? Or are you not man enough to go for a girl like me?"

The Applaud jumped at her, raising its staff and attempting to squash her. Parrying it with a kick, she followed up with four direct punches to its abdomen. Channelling her magic, she sent a barrage of red, phantasmal skulls into it, finishing it with a wicked punch directly to its face. It flew back and was caught by a slice from the katana. Grinning at the sight, she focused on the rest of the flock. Utilising a Bullet Climax, she began to pick off the angels that weren't engaging the winged man.

Sephiroth had improved, again. He moved with confidence, and none of the original problems that plagued him were there. His stance was nearly perfect, his strikes were with purpose and precision, with not as much power behind them. He other fist was wrapped in fire, and he used it to send small bursts of flames at any Affinity that got too close.

She felt pride swell through her. Although she was curious as to why he had abandoned his defensive mindset so quickly. She did put that down to being swarmed by a flock of angels; he simply couldn't be defensive, unless he wanted to be stuck here for an eternity.

Slicing down the last Affinity, he stood there, breathing heavily from the exertion.

"That was fun." She said, walking over to him. "Slaying these angels has never not been-"

"Shut up." He stopped her. Turning to face her, she noticed the relief and happiness that was in his eyes. "Just shut up and let me enjoy this moment."

"You missed me?" Her eyes fluttered. "Awwww…"

He threw himself at her and hugged her tightly. Surprised at the motioned, she ungracefully caught him and returned the favour, taking care to not touch his wing.

"I thought you were gone forever." He was sobbing into her shoulder. "I can't be this leader, I'm not as strong as I thought I was, I thought it was going to be a matter of time before he found us…"

He had several mental barriers still, ones she couldn't easily fix. "You were doing well enough here, Seph. You have improved a lot from the bumbling man two weeks ago."

He muttered something.

"Sorry?" She pushed him back to arm's length. "What did you say?"

"I wasn't that bad." He smiled, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "I did survive for a year by myself, remember?"

"Of course." She smiled back. "You just got lucky."

"If you say so." He pushed her away. "If I had that luck I'd be in Vegas."

"Darling, you'd fit right in in Vegas." She gestured to the two watching them. "Shall we?"

He nodded. She was definitely back.

…

"Well, that's certainly different." Luka pulled off Cereza's glasses as Bayonetta and Sephiroth stepped back into the mortal realm. "Never thought angels would look like demonic turkeys."

"Don't believe everything books tell you, Cheshire." Bayonetta raised her eyebrows. "I thought being a journalist would tell you that."

"Books don't prepare you for that." He fired right back at her. Placing Cereza back onto the ground, he turned to face Sephiroth. "Your power… what is it exactly?"

"I'm not sure myself." He answered with a smile. "I'm one of a kind."

"That's my line, darling." Bayonetta slapped him playfully over the back of the head. Turning to Cereza, she kneeled and began to check over her for any injuries. "Did Cheshire keep you safe, little one?"

"Yes Mummy!" She answered chirpily. "He even gave me this!" She held out the lollipop. Bayonetta raised an eyebrow and turned to Luka, who was scratching the back of his neck.

"You do have some uses after all." She acknowledged, then turned to face the airport. "We need some sort of transport if we want to reach Ithavoll."

"I can fly anything you give me." Luka boasted. "Just get me a vehicle, and I'll work my magic."

"Better make it quick." Sephiroth cut into the conversation. "Chances are the Laguna will return."

…

Jeanne frowned at the sight of the four people from atop the hanger.

"Your little plan failed, it seems." She said, lip curling. "Sapientia did do its job correctly, so perhaps you underestimated your experiments skill, or hers."

She tilted her head. "You want me to fight him? How are you going to get her away? She clearly still isn't ready, and I'd rather not test his abilities with her getting in the way."

Her mouth then curled into a malicious grin. "Undo the seal for Iustitia? My, I thought you would never ask…"

…

Bayonetta felt something was off the minute Sephiroth had said that. And to his credit, he did as well.

"Another one?" He frowned. "I thought the rest of the Auditio were in Paradiso."

"Auditio?" Luka eyes widened. "Isn't that what you fought here before?"

"Yes." She answered, turning to face the airport. "One was sealed away here, during the witch-hunts."

"Who broke the seal then?" Sephiroth's mind brushed against hers as he telepathically began to reach out and find anyone else in the area. She had a suspicion of who it was, she just wanted confirmation.

He never got the chance to go further than the small clearing they were in.

The ground began to shake as something began to awaken. A huge, green tentacle with a venus-flytrap mouth burst out of the ground, separating Bayonetta from the trio. She jumped gracefully out of the way, noticing the trail of the tentacle leading into the airport and started to run towards the base.

Sephiroth grabbed both Luka and Cereza and pulled them out of the way. Cheshire went flying from her grip as she was pulled out of the way, the girl screaming for her lost doll. Luka turned back to see what had happened and instantly regretted it.

"So that's an Auditio?" Luka screamed as the trio ran back to the forest. "That's one creepy looking fucker there, I can tell you that."

"They all look fucked up." Sephiroth replied as he gestured for them to stop. "We should be safe here."

"Safe here? This where you got swarmed before!" Luka didn't understand. "What the hell makes you think that it's safe now?"

"The Laguna are over there." Sephiroth pointed back to Iustitia. "And there isn't another place that isn't horribly exposed."

Luka conceded the point. Sephiroth then stiffened as a familiar presence began to flicker at his senses.

"You did decide to join the party after all." He said to himself with a snarl. He turned back to Luka and Cereza.

"New change of plans. You try to find some transport, and I'll go deal with the other witch." He briefly said, and then stalked off into the forest.

Luka stared in shock at his retreating form. "Another one?!"

Shaking his head out of his stupor, he looked down at the terrified Cereza who was clinging to him. Smiling a little, he spoke to her; "Come, Cerezita. We have to find a helicopter or plane or something that can get us in the sky."

"We are going to fly, Uncle Luka?" Cereza's voice was full of wonder, already distracted from her lost toy.

"That we are."

…

Vigrid airport was falling apart for the second time that week.

Bayonetta watched as tentacles burst from the ground, pulling the Auditio free from its underground prison. Shivering in repulsion, she saw the Auditio in all its glory.

It was a ball formed from faces, ten to be exact, with each mouth having a tentacle coming out of it like a tongue. The three main faces had three massive tentacle-tongues that had a smaller head on the tip, thus bringing the total faces to thirteen.

" _As it was foretold…_ " It spoke with a childlike voice, only increasing the repulsion she felt. " _The Umbra witch-_ "

Already tiring of yet another angelic monologue, she had kicked a nearby boulder into one of its various faces. "Can we skip the pillow talk and start round two? I'm itching for something."

It laughed, gurgling like a newborn.

"Ewwww." She shuddered. "What the fuck are you?"

" _I, Iustitia, will deliver the Left Eye to the Father, as it was prophesied._ " It gargled, a pair of venus-flytrap tentacles readied themselves to strike.

Bayonetta rolled her eyes and took her stance, letting her power flow out alongside her hair. "Let's dance, boys!"

…

Sephiroth found her exactly where he thought she would be. Leaning on her motorbike, hand on hip, accentuating her curves. Her other hand was playing with a gun, holding it near her face so she could observe it easily. The strange gurgles of the Auditio was the only sound as the two stood across from each other.

"Jeanne." He said, emotions barely held in check. She looked up and arrogantly flashed him a smile.

"Ahh, the experiment. It's good to see you survived Temperentia." She stood up from the bike. "It is a massive loss if the Father decides to repeat his experiment, as he just lost his biggest backer in Paradiso. Although your death would have not have fazed us from simply trying again."

"That's still your biggest concern?" He asked incredulously. "This experiment?"

"What, you think your life is worth a damn?" She laughed. "You are just one of many experiments the Father has attempted. You're nothing."

She then appeared to reconsider that. "Although, giving yourself an identity is somewhat making yourself something." Shaking her head, she pointed a gun at him. "Just give up and come back. You're nothing to this world, and you are nothing to her. You'd be better suited as the Father's replacement, as is your purpose."

A crumpling sound resonated throughout the air as her bike imploded into a small ball. Raising her eyebrows in surprise, she looked down at what was left of it.

"You know that that was bloody expensive." She looked back. "But no matter. You'll pay for that when you're back in your pen."

Roaring, Sephiroth launched himself at her, Shuraba appearing in his right hand. Surprised at his recklessness, Jeanne took a step back and played defensive as he swung the long katana like a feather, only much faster and heavier. Each swing was aimed at her body or limb, and Jeanne almost felt the boredom start to creep up on her as she easily sidestepped each attack.

It was time to take back the offensive. Blocking a swing that was aimed at her neck, she felt the blade bite deeply into All 4-One. Throwing it off, she fired her two handguns at him, forcing him to weave and retreat backwards. Slamming her foot into the ground, she summoned a wicked kick to squash him, of which he slipped pass. Fire encased his left fist as he splayed his hand and shot it at her, flamethrower style.

"So close!" She taunted as she dodged through it, activating witchtime to find the optimal path through his attack. Slamming the butt of her right handgun into his chest, she pushed him up into the air, causing him to grunt in pain. Jumping after him, she used an after-burner kick to throw him away, until he smashed against the wall of a hanger and stayed there. Landing on the small crater, she caressed his face as he grimaced in pain.

"Your power is weak. I don't know how you managed to defeat Temperentia, let alone a lonely Affinity." She shook her head, pursing her lips together. "You are nothing but child's play."

His arm shot out and grabbed her neck. Firing a shot in response in his direction, she sensed it miss and then felt herself hit the area next to the crater hard. Smashing cleanly through the concrete, she fell into the hanger, bounced and then stopped. Pulling herself to her feet, she snarled in anger as he jumped in after her. Firing her guns, she jumped up to meet him.

…

Weaving through the tentacles, and becoming amazed at the denseness of the angel, Bayonetta saw the most peculiar sight on the ground.

"Cheshire?" She scooped the doll up as she ran to the right, more tentacles slamming into the ground behind her. "What are you doing here?"

The doll, to her relief, did not answer. Placing it into Inferno, she weaved through two more tentacles, and then ran towards the main body. Falling for her trap, Iustitia hissed and growled as its tentacles tied themselves together in one giant knot. Transforming into a panther, she jumped up onto its face, activating witchwalk. Landing on the nose, she gave it a good stomp and the heart of the tongue fell out of its mouth.

Allowing her power to fill her body, she let it flow into her right arm as she brought it back. Sweeping across in one motion, she cut clean through the heart and separated the tentacle from its body. Iustitia screamed in pain, freeing its tentacles and began slamming them everywhere.

"Silly, I'm up here…" She shook her head in mock shame. The tentacles whipped at her, and she almost regretted those words. Almost.

Jumping onto a tentacle, she immediately lost balance as it whipped around erratically, trying to throw her off. Waving her arms around, she regained her balance to see a flytrap mouth flying at her, mouth agape.

Stepping to the side, she jumped onto that one as well. Running on it, she saw several more tentacles take aim at her.

"Jesus Christ…" She said to herself as she dodged them yet again. "Can't you try something else? You're boring me…"

It either did not listen, or simply did not have the power to do anything else. Leaping onto another one of the main faces, she dropkicked the nose as she landed to force out the heart. Charging her arm up yet again, she saw a tentacle fly towards her, trying to knock her off its face. Slipping up to the bridge of the nose, she smiled in satisfaction as it smashed into itself. Diving forward, she released the pent-up energy as a giant backhand, literally slapping the heart to pieces and tearing the tentacle off.

The Angel screamed yet again, its tentacles now whipping around in a frenzy. Jumping from the Auditio, she watched it turned its final tongue to face her, this one's head glaring at her.

The tentacles grabbed the ground and tore it apart, grabbing a giant chunk and hurling it at her. Summoning Madama Butterfly's fists, she stopped the chunk of rock and punched through it, only to see another fly at her. Gritting her teeth, she slammed this one into a standstill, and then punched through it and into the last tongue. It collapsed to the ground, moaning. Jumping onto the tongue, she ran up it and drop kicked the final head. The heart popped out of its mouth, and she gave it a swift kick to cut it in two. It screamed in pain, and Bayonetta felt as if it was time to finish this. Jumping from the Auditio, she landed back onto the runway and took a pose as her demonic power flowed through her.

"TOLEC VOVIM!" She screamed, and Scolopendra appeared from a portal to the left. The centipede demon set its sight on the now mostly helpless angel, and it roared in glee.

"Go get him, boy!" She commanded, and the Infernal obeyed.

…

Jeanne had realised that he was beating her in a battle of pure magical prowess. For every summon, wicked weave or basic spell she used, he had an answer or worse for them.

However, she had also realised that a close-quarters fight relying on strength and combat prowess would serve her better. The Shuraba, even though it was fast, was a lot slower than her punches and kicks, and her augmented strikes would throw him around the area with enough force for her to capitalise for an advantage. Even if she wasn't slapping him around and he had the rare opportunity to attack her directly, she would dodge, blow him a kiss and enrage him further. However, each swing he managed to land felt like a car hitting her, and she knew she could not hope to test him directly in a battle of strength.

The two were locked in a dance to the death, with each trying to push the advantage to themselves.

"For someone who spent most of their training cowering and having the shit beaten out of them." She taunted as she side-stepped a slice. "You are surviving a lot longer than a puppy would."

He didn't answer and focused on her. Calming himself down, he forced himself to focus on the knowledge of the fight, as Bayonetta had taught him. He knew from the few strikes he did land on her that he was physically stronger than her. That meant if he had any chance of defeating her, he needed to hit her, which was proving difficult with her speed. He just needed to be able to slow her down, which also seemed difficult considering she had witchtime available to her. A plan began to formulate in his mind as he twisted pass a wicked weave. Poking Shuraba at her, he tried to push her back. Taking his bait, she jumped nimbly out of the swing.

"I honestly don't know why Bayonetta keeps you around." She dodged yet another swing and fired her guns at his head. He leaned backwards and launched a fireball aimed at her stomach. She jumped backwards as the firestorm exploded and incinerated the surrounding area. Landing and perching on top of a pole, she stared down at the man amongst the flame. "You're very boring for someone of her tastes."

Sephiroth stared at her, discarding that one and trying to think up a new plan. She was too fast. If he wanted to beat her in anyway, he had to catch her. Noticing the nick in her weapon, an idea began to form.

"You don't even fucking talk. Bayonetta doesn't go for the silent types, you know?" She examined her gloves briefly. "She'll never accept you for who you are."

In the split second she turned away, and during her speech, Sephiroth vanished and teleported next to her. It seemed that Jeanne had somewhat anticipated this and began to sway out of his way, but she didn't anticipate what he was swinging at.

The Shuraba bit deeply into the gun on her left foot, shattering it's firing mechanism and rendering it useless. Sephiroth smiled as his plan worked, and the katana was jammed into her, connecting them. Her speed was rendered ineffective and now he had the advantage. Jeanne cursed at this new predicament, and immediately reached down to release the gun and free herself. As soon as she did, his hand closed over her throat and pulled her from the pole, both tumbling back to the earth. His hand never left her neck and he retained full control of the situation.

Slamming her into the ground, he saw the concrete crack and break beneath her. Lifting her up, he began to let his rage, hurt and anger of twenty years out and a newfound strength filled him. Repeatedly and without mercy, he slammed her into the ground, smashing ribs, bones, flesh, the concrete and the earth itself. She cried out in pain each time, and by the time he was beginning to let up, she was begging and pleading for him to stop. Her arms lay limply by her sides, her clothing torn and her breathing was erratic.

He released her and kneeled to her side. She groaned and trembled as pain shot through her at every move. He stared in hatred at her, relishing in the victory.

"You took everything from me." He said quietly. "You stripped my mind of everything, and then took away my humanity."

Jeanne began to realise what he was going to do and pathetically tried to brush his hand away from her throat. She was not successful.

"I am going to take every little scrap of memory that you possess." His eyes began to glow as his magic began to gather inside of him. "And then I'll kill you."

"No wait, you don't… no, NOO!" Jeanne screamed as her mind felt the intruder, and the intruder began to rip apart everything. Grabbing her head with both hands to focus, Sephiroth ignored her increasing screams and thrashing. Memories flew through his mind, her memories…

 _A little girl, dressed in a patchwork dress, stood in front of her as she declared universal friendship…_

 _Her heart falling with regret as she stabbed her masked Umbran sister and sealing her memories away…_

 _An angelic figure invading her mind and her screams as she lost all control…_

And with that a huge angelic mental counterattack screamed into Sephiroth's mind, and huge golden chains shielded her mind from any further probing or destruction. This wasn't Jeanne, he remembered her mind being extremely like Bayonetta's. This was something else. And if that final memory had any indication, then that other thing was inside her mind.

She was just a puppet.

Releasing her and falling backwards, he looked at her in shock and regret. Everything she had stood for in his mind was for nothing. She didn't deserve to be turned into a vegetable. She wasn't who he should hate. She had no control over her actions. She was just a mannequin whose strings were held by another; him.

His eyes widened as he fully processed what he was about to do. His own words came back to him: " _I don't think it's morally right to mess with someone's head."_ Looking down at his hands, he suddenly felt immense shame weighing down on him.

…

She felt like death.

Jeanne began to drag her own carcass out of the crater, pull by pull, painfully gaining ground away from the winged man.

The Father's voice was telling her to get out of there, and she was happily following his direction. At the very least, her innards were pulverised, and at worst she would be dead come two hours.

The experiment was far stronger than either of them had realised. She smiled bitterly, knowing that Balder was happy with the newfound revelation. She was too, in a way. He was perfect.

Now, she just had to focus on not dying, and sneaking aboard whatever plane or helicopter they decided to steal. That would be the next logical move, considering she had beaten the stupid Auditio and he was finished with her.

…

Iustitia had to be the most disgusting thing she had ever killed.

Even though she had remarked earlier to Cereza that cockroaches were the most disgusting thing she had ever seen, it had now been trumped. This…thing had taken pole position and she wasn't sure whether something would beat it.

Maybe if it's faces were replaced with cockroaches. Bayonetta shuddered at that possibility. Or children zombies.

Watching Scolopendra squeeze the Laguna from within its vice, she tilted her head at its baby-like crying.

"You know, crying like a baby isn't going to win you sympathy points." She resummoned the doll from Inferno. Holding Cheshire to her ear, she pretended to listen to it. "Show it mercy? You must be pulling my leg…"

" _Such power…_ " The muffled sound of the Auditio wailed out. " _The Father will be impressed indeed…_ "

"I always here about this father… Does he not know that I don't have daddy issues?" Bayonetta rolled her eyes. "If he isn't going to play nice, I'll have to punish him too."

The Audito smiled underneath the demonic centipede. It laughed at her, and her eyebrows furrowed in indignation.

" _May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you…_ " Iustitia gargled it's last as Scolopendra crushed it into a small, fleshy ball, which dropped into Gommorah's awaiting mouth.

"That takes care of that." She looked at the doll in her hand. "Now, where did those three end up? I suppose two of them are adults, so someone should've been responsible enough."

She turned on her heel and began to walk towards the hangers, spotting Luka and Cereza. "Where and what the bloody hell did he get up to now?"

The pair spotted her and gave her a wave. Stepping out of Purgatorio, she handed over the toy to the increasingly joyous Cereza.

"Now, little one." She smiled. "Try to take better care of him."

"Thank you Mummy!" She held the doll close to her. Luka seemingly relaxed, but then grew a little stiff.

"What was that thing?" He asked. "That thing was terrifying!"

"That was Iustitia." She answered. "A former Auditio, and something the Umbran sealed away in the later stages of the Witch Hunts. It supposedly represents life and the earth, but I don't see the connection."

"You are not wrong." Luka scratched the back of his head. "I think Sephiroth headed into that hanger, judging by its condition."

Bayonetta turned her head and saw the hanger in question he was referring to. "I'm honestly surprised it's still standing."

Luka walked off, seemingly anxious to find the winged man. Bayonetta was about to follow him when Cereza's voice stopped her.

"Mummy, are you looking for something?" She froze. _How did she know?_

"Yes, I am." She turned to the girl. "Cereza, do you have anything that is really important to you?"

She held out Cheshire. Bayonetta smiled and kneeled in front of her. "I mean, really special."

Cereza's eyes widened. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Bayonetta's Umbran watch.

"Huh?!" She looked down to see hers still there. "Where did you get that?"

"You gave it to me Mummy, for my fifth birthday." Cereza held it tenderly. "It's my most special thing."

"Well, Cereza, when you have something special." She grabbed one of her ribbons and pulled it from her hair. "Never let it out of sight. Always keep it close to you." She grabbed the watch from her and tied the ribbon through it, and then placed it around Cereza's neck. "You must always keep it safe and treasure it forever."

Cereza nodded, her eyes serious. "I will Mummy. I promise."

She ruffled her hair and stood up. "Come, let us join Luka before he starts missing us."

…

The trio found Sephiroth amongst the ruins of a hanger. He was kneeling in a deep crater, eyes closed, and small tears running down his cheeks.

"Well, this all looks…horrible." Luka glanced around at what remained. "What the hell happened here?"

"It looks like you got into a play date with someone." Bayonetta cocked her head at him. "Was it not fun?"

"Jeanne was here." He said. "She's in trouble."

"Her?" She replied in confusion, whereas Luka turned to Cereza and mouthed 'who?'

"Something is up with her. I saw into her mind, and what I saw wasn't Jeanne." He looked up and she saw the tears in his eyes. "I hurt her."

Bayonetta didn't understand what he meant by any of it. But she did understand that the man was hurting, and she empathised with him. Kneeling to face him, she placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled gently. "I don't understand exactly, but we need to go."

He weakly smiled back at her, and then stood up. The three of them left, leaving a perplexed Luka behind.

"Wait, you're telepathic?!"


	14. Chapter 13: The Broken Sky

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I own nothing from Bayonetta or from Final Fantasy 7_

Luka opened the doors to the third hanger, which was relatively unscathed from the three battles. Inside was a plane, an ancient one by the standards of mortals.

"This…" Bayonetta struggled to find the words for it. "Thing is going to take us to Isla del Sol?"

"Well, there is no one else here to stop us, and we really don't have much of a choice." Luka answered, pulling a ladder over to the plane. "You can handle flying, right?"

"In this thing?" She walked up to the side of the plane and held a hand to the hull. "This plane is older than you, Cheshire."

"Luka." He corrected her as he set up the ladder. "Vigridian technology is very durable, so it should work without a problem."

"I'd rather take my chances with Sephiroth." She smiled deviously, trying to get a rise out of him.

"I'd rather not." Luka climbed the ladder and opened the door, revealing the dusty interior. "Phew! Looks like we need to have a little clean of this thing while we fly." He turned back and smirked at her. "It's a good thing we have you around- woah!"

Bayonetta held him by his ankle, dangling him above the ground. The ladder fell to the ground with a loud clang, startling the winged man behind out of his thoughts.

"Go on." Her smile was wider than normal. "Why is it a good thing you have me around?"

"Uhh, well, you see…" Luka's face was going bright red. "I was going to make a joke-"

"A joke?" Her eyebrow shot up. "Is that what this is, a joke? You were hellbent on bloody murdering me! You are going to explain this little change of heart."

"Well, you see…" He repeated himself. "I thought about what had happened, and I think that something bigger than you and me is going on."

"I'm listening." Bayonetta's smile faded, and her eyes narrowed. A small tug on her sleeve caused her to turn around and forget about the man briefly.

"Mummy?" Cereza asked, her eyes looking at her in confusion. "Why are you holding Uncle Luka like that?"

She barely managed to hold in the bark of laughter. "What?!" She looked at the dangling man with amusement. "I'm his sister now?"

"I can explain!" Luka was now redder than a tomato. "Just put me the right way up!"

She dropped him, letting him land unceremoniously in a heap. He quickly sat up and sighed as the blood drained from his head.

"Now, I simply asked Cerezita if she could pose as my niece to get through the checkpoint." He stood up, fixing his scarf. "She took the idea to heart."

"Mister Luka said he could be my uncle." Cereza added, smiling. "So he is!"

Luka shrugged. "I honestly don't mind."

"And he and bubby promised me that I won't be unhappy anymore." The child added. She looked up at her with wide eyes and a trembling lip. "Do you promise me that too, Mummy?"

Bayonetta looked at the two men with a surprised look. They had known the kid for three days at most, and they had already pledged their support for her? _To be fair, they have known her for at least a day longer than I have._

"Well, aren't you two nice people." She gave Sephiroth a look. "What do you think, son of mine?"

He broke out of his reverie and gave her an annoyed look. "Well, I think for starters you should do what you think should be done, not what others tell you."

She blinked at his hostility. _Maybe he had not yet fully forgiven her yet…_ She reflected, feeling a little hurt by that revelation. _But there was truth to his words._

"Now, little one." She knelt to look at the girl face to face. "I'm… not happy with myself with the way things were between us recently. But yes, I will try my best to make sure you are happy."

Cereza smiled and hugged the witch tightly. She flinched at the sudden contact but calmed herself and hugged the girl back.

"I love you Mummy." Cereza whispered. "You're the best."

"Now, now. Let's not get sappy." She released her and stood up. Turning to Luka, she noticed that he had reset the ladder. "You can fly this thing, right?"

"As I said before, I can fly anything." He held an arm out, pretending he was a servant. "Welcome to Air Luka, flight 001! Please remember to take your luggage on board and that food and snacks are not provided!"

Bayonetta laughed at his antics. "Please tell me Air Cheshire has decent on-flight entertainment, or are you going to tell me I am that?"

He stepped back, a look of horror on his face. "No! You are not the entertainment! I swear I never thought of such a thing!"

"Your loss." She climbed up the ladder, scaling it gracefully and disappearing into the plane.

"Hey!" The man finally realised what she said. "It's Luka! L-U-K-A!"

Sephiroth shrugged, picked up Cereza and climbed up the ladder after her.

…

The plane flew in a relatively straight line on its pathway to Ithavoll. Luka sat at the controls, trying to wrest the ancient machine into his control. Bayonetta and Cereza lounged in the cockpit behind him, content with the rest. Sephiroth sat in the other chair, alert, tense and brooding.

"Alright." Luka finally announced. "I've set this on a course for Ithavoll, and we should reach it before nightfall." Turning around, he faced the trio with a smile.

"Well done Cheshire." Bayonetta smiled back with relief. "You've done two useful things today."

"Hey! I do useful things all the time." He frowned. "Like investigating shady people in Vigrid and exposing them for their crimes!"

"Hmm." Bayonetta pretended to consider it. "That sounds awfully inconvenient for those people."

"Inconvenient or not, they got what was coming for them." He replied, then grew serious. "Which will be the same with you if I find out you did kill my father."

"Did you really have to bring that up?" She looked at him with a bleak expression. "Now you've ruined the mood."

"It's the truth, though." He refuted. "You must know that."

The uncomfortable silence that followed was apparently too much for the winged man. He stood up and walked into the cargo bay behind them.

"There is something on his mind." Luka changed the subject. "Something big."

"What do you mean?" Bayonetta looked at him curiously. "What happened while I was away?"

"He summoned his Infernal patron, or whatever you call it last night." He began. "It must have told him something he didn't want to hear, or whatever happened back at the airport freaked him out."

"He summoned Madama Khepri?" She crossed her arms. "What did she have to say?"

"Well, she couldn't tell me anything." He shrugged. "Wait, she didn't want to tell me anything!"

"Well, that makes sense, since she can see into the future." She shrugged. "Don't want to change it if it benefits her."

"Wait, she did tell us something." Luka leaned forward, gesturing for her to do so as well. "Cerezita is apparently very important to this timeline." He whispered, making sure the girl couldn't hear him.

"Is she?" Bayonetta glanced at the oblivious girl, who was looking out the window in awe. "That lines up with what my friend in Paradiso told me."

"What did this friend say?" Luka asked.

"That I could change the future by affecting the past; specifically, her." She closed her eyes in frustration. "It just never said why."

"Whoever Cerezita is, she must be important to the outcome of the Witch Hunts." Luka leaned back. "You should talk to him."

"Me?" She put her hands up in surprise. "He isn't my biggest fan right now, I'd wager."

"What makes you say that?" He tilted his head. "Did you two not have a tear-filled reunion back there?"

"You saw that!?" She hissed, her eyes flashing with anger.

"Uhh…well…" Luka began to squirm under her intense gaze. "Sorry?"

"Hmph." She crossed her arms. "Well, lucky you, Cheshire. I will let you off the hook once again. I'll talk to him."

She stood up, and he visibly relaxed. He then yelped in surprise as she whipped around and stared at him, face to face.

"But if you take another look into private moments containing me without my consent." She warned him. "It will be bloody painful for you."

He was quick to nod in agreement.

"Good kitty." She stood back up and walked out of the cockpit, trying to find their winged friend.

"Uncle Luka? Why is Mummy angry?" A concerned Cereza asked him, her concerned face looking up at his.

"…Cerezita?" He turned to her. "When you grow up, please don't be afraid of your own emotions."

"Why would I be scared of my feelings?" She asked, confusion spreading across her face, then her eyes grew wide as she realised what he was talking about. "Why is Mummy scared of her feelings?"

Luka scooped up the girl and placed her into his lap. "You see, the reason why Mummy didn't recognise you at first is because she lost her memory."

"Mummy doesn't remember anything?" Cereza frowned. "Why doesn't she?"

"I don't know. I have a feeling that in the past something happened to her to push people away subconsciously, either through being really scary or using them." He explained. "She acts like she was really hurt, like some people I know."

"Mummy…was hurt?" Her voice was cracking, and it was obvious to him that she was trying to not cry. "They told me she was sick."

"Who?"

"The other witches. The ones that care for me." She looked away, anger starting to form on her features. "They told me she was sick, and they were taking care of her!"

"Woah! Cerezita!" Luka gently pulled her head around to face him. "It's just a theory. Right now, the only person who would know is whoever took her memories away and potentially Sephiroth."

"Bubby can look into people's minds?" She asked, and he nodded in confirmation. "Bubby will know. Bubby knows everything."

"That's a big statement. Sephiroth doesn't even know his own name." Luka shook his head. "Come, do you want to know what all this does?"

Cereza nodded and then turned her attention to the various knobs and switches that controlled the plane.

…

Bayonetta found him in a small alcove above the cargo bay. Climbing up the scaffolding holding it there, she crossed her legs and took a seat across from him. He acknowledged her with a nod, and then returned to looking as the metal.

"I'm going to be blunt here; do we still have an issue from that time in Paradiso?" She asked and stared at him with concern.

He looked at her in surprise. "I thought we had gotten over that already?"

She blinked. "Then why did you react poorly?"

He placed his hands onto his knees and stared at her, a miserable look on his face. "I have had a lot of issues with myself right now."

She let that sink it before answering. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I should." He looked down. "Khepri doesn't help and Luka won't understand. Hell, you might not even understand!"

"You had an issue with Jeanne at the airport." She mentioned. "And then Luka tells me you've been acting up because of things that Madama Khepri told you."

"How do you- wait, he told you didn't he?" He looked up at her.

"Yes. He didn't tell me what she told you." She looked at him, the unspoken question hanging between them.

"She told me two main things: that I have no future and that if we continue on this current path, Jeanne will be happy." He answered.

"What does have no future mean?" Her face scrunched into a frown.

"I don't know exactly, but according to Khepri it means I go outside of time eventually." He looked at her bleakly. "I cause a paradox or something."

"I don't understand how you could cause a paradox to begin with." She shrugged. "And what do you mean about Jeanne?"

"When I looked inside of her head, I found that she wasn't in control."

"Why were you inside of her head?" Bayonetta looked at him, horror building up in her.

"I was going to tear her mind to shreds. And then leave her to die while she tried to remember how to breathe." He broke into a tremor. "I'm a monster. No person would think to do that."

She stared at him in horror. What could she say to that?

"You can leave me, Bayonetta." His voice was breaking apart. "I know I'm not suitable to be your apprentice, protégé, whatever I am."

"As a child," Her mind was thinking quickly. "Jeanne was my only friend. She helped me through my childhood, my years of training as a witch and was the one to seal me away. What we've seen of her leans credence to the fact that someone is in control of her."

"Jeanne was your childhood friend?" He frowned, his body calming itself. "Hold on a second."

He held a hand out, and then paused. He looked at her with curious eyes. "May I?"

"Sure." She leaned forward and allowed his hand to touch her forehead. A strange sensation grew from it, and then she giggled as she saw him in her mind's eye. "This is interesting."

 _Can you think of your memories with Jeanne?_ _It will be easier._ He asked in her mind. Understanding, she began to draw each one of them to the forefront.

He only made the first when he pulled back and stared at her in shock.

"What?" She asked, confused. "Is there something on my face?"

"When I saw that memory from Jeanne's perspective, I saw Cereza." He stood up quickly, nearly banging his head on the ceiling. "Who is she, and why is she so goddamn important!?"

"Are you sure you saw her?" She followed his idea and stood up as well.

"I'm sure." He squinted at her. "Who are you exactly?"

She never got a chance to answer. A massive tremor rocked the plane and sent both tumbling off the platform. Bayonetta had the awareness to grab onto the scaffolding, whereas Sephiroth fell all the way to the floor of the cargo bay, slamming against it with a thud.

"Cheshire!" She yelled. "What the fuck was that!?"

"Uhh…" His voice sounded muted. "It's probably a bit of turbulence, just give it a couple of minutes and it should be fine!"

Another tremor vibrated through the plane. Sephiroth groaned and sat up, and then looked at the walls of the plane in suspicion.

"This isn't natural." He whispered to himself. "Bayonetta, get down!"

She jumped from the scaffolding as a pink and white fist smashed through the wall, and the sound of air being sucked out of the plane filled their ears.

"Jeanne!?" Sephiroth screamed in realisation. She landed next to him, crouching and tense.

"I thought you had had your way with her to the point that she wasn't able to follow us?" She looked at the hole with intensity.

"I thought so too, just not in that way." He answered, pulling himself to his feet. "I'll make sure the little one and Luka are safe."

A third tremor rocked the plane, and Cereza's panicked cry was the only thing the pair heard.

"MUMMY!"

Without any thought, Bayonetta was already sprinting back towards the cockpit. Sephiroth thought about following her but thought against it.

"No need for both of us." He said to himself, and then turned his attention to the hole in the wall. Before he could climb out of the plane, the floor tore apart, and a pink and white Gomorrah roared in fury at him. Shuraba flashing into his hand, he took a stance as the demonic hound growled at him.

…

"Little one!" Bayonetta burst into an empty cockpit, dread filling her. "Cereza? Luka?"

The hole in the side of the cockpit was her first clue. Activating witchwalk and sticking herself to the fuselage, she walked out and onto the plane.

She saw Jeanne holding Luka up on the tail of the plane.

"I'll ask you once more mortal; where is the girl!?" The witch in red screamed at him.

"I told you before!" The man wasn't struggling. "I don't know where she is!"

"Jeanne!" She made her presence known. "Let him go!"

She turned and looked at her. "Ah, back to your old self, are we?"

Bayonetta refused to answer that. "Let him go, Jeanne. He is not part of this."

"A soft spot for this mortal?" She laughed. "You disgust me, Bayonetta. You know as much as I do that becoming attached to them leads to pain."

"I don't care." She snarled. "I'll ask you once more; let him go!"

"As you wish." She dropped him, flinging him behind the plane. Letting witchwalk fade, Bayonetta flung herself after him, drawing upon Malphas's power. Two wings sprang from her back as she hurtled towards the falling man. Catching up to him, she grabbed him and spread her wings to slow their descent until she was hovering in the air.

"Holy shit! You're flying!" Luka stared at her in amazement. "Since when?"

"Since forever. Well, I only recently remembered how to." She answered, smiling at his antics. She grew serious. "Where is Cereza?"

"I hid her in a compartment in the cockpit." He answered as they began to fly back towards the plane. "She'll be safe, as long as they don't find her."

Bayonetta landed onto the plane with a small thud, still holding him. From above them, Jeanne laughed.

"What a relief! You saved his life, just so you could outlive him!" She broke into giggles, clapping. "What a hero, Bayonetta, what a hero!"

"Your little attitude is starting to irritate me." Bayonetta answered, letting Luka turn in her grip to try and find a hold on the plane.

"Aww, Bayonetta…" Jeanne looked at her in mock concern. "Why so glum? Is something troubling you?"

Luka fired his grappling hook into the tail, and Bayonetta released him as he wavered in the high speeds.

"The only thing that is troubling me is your almost constant butting into my affairs." She placed her hands on her hips and stared up at the witch. "I don't have the time, nor the patience, to play games with you anymore."

"There's no need to take your stress out on me, Bayonetta. It's clear you're worried for the other member of your little troupe. Although you should be worried about the other one as well." She pretended to ponder her own words. "I've sent a friend to distract him, and some of my new ones to get her."

"What have you done?!" She summoned out Scarborough Fair and pointed them at her.

"My, aren't you attached to your precious little one." Jeanne smirked. "Do you like it when she calls you Mummy?"

"You're absolutely delusional." She gritted her teeth, irritation beginning to form on her features. "If I don't look after her, they'll complain, and their whining is far worse than hers!"

"You've got quite the tongue for curling around the truth." Jeanne shook her head in disappointment. "My, my. Just continuously lie to yourself more, Bayonetta. Maybe it will help you in the long run!"

"Jeanne." Bayonetta decided to try a different approach. "We used to be friends. Why are you doing this?"

"The Father has promised me more than your friendship, Bayonetta!" She snarled. "When the Creator is awakened, I'll have more than a crummy reminder of my past all for me!"

A golden light spilled onto the plane as a portal to Paradiso opened.

" _Why must you needlessly stumble and delay?_ " The Auditio from the bridge said as it climbed onto the plane, crumpling and tearing the fuselage where it stood. " _Have you forgotten what task you have been charged with, Jeanne?_ "

"Holy shit…" Luka stared in horror at the monster on the plane. "What the fuck is that thing?"

"I have not forgotten my task." Jeanne addressed it with an icy tone. "I do not require your help to do so!"

" _Then make haste, for the era of the Creator approaches!"_ It rumbled. " _Or are your injuries too grave for you to continue?"_

"I am fine!" The witch in red screamed. "Go tell the Father you are not required!"

" _Hmph._ " It glared at the trio. " _Ever since we've come to rely on them, I have always been reminded of the fragility and the arrogance of humans._ "

Jeanne had had enough. Jumping from the tail, she landed onto the head of the Auditio and slammed her foot down, sending a wicked stomp onto it. It roared in pain and fell from the plane, taking Jeanne with it. It had the last laugh, though.

It opened its mouth to reveal a mechanical shark mouth, and it fired several fireballs into the wings of the plane, destroying them.

"Shit!" Luka said as the plane began to hurtle towards the sea. "We're gonna fucking die!"

"Shut up Cheshire." She scooped him up and disconnected his tether to the plane. "Brace yourself!"

She kneeled and summoned a small barrier around them both. Not a moment later, the plane smashed into the water, and then re-submerged. The front of the plane was squashed into a flat pancake, and both adults stared in shock at the sight.

"Cereza!" Bayonetta screamed in fury and in desperateness, dispelling the barrier and sprinting up the plane. Luka was quick to follow, albeit slowly due to the slipperiness.

Using Madama Butterfly's fists, she tore open the fuselage above the ruins of the cockpit. "Little one! Can you hear me?"

Jumping in, she saw the ruin of the room she was just in 10 minutes ago. Everything was compacted into an almost wall like piece of art, and her eyes began to blur as tears filled them.

"No…" She whispered. "No! Not like this! Cereza!"

She threw herself at the wall, trying to pry parts of the metal away. Luka dropped down behind her and looked at the sight with horror.

"Cereza!" Bayonetta collapsed to her knees, her voice breaking. She kept her hands on the wall, as if in a prayer. "Cereza…"

Luka stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry.'

She didn't reprimand him, or snap at him. She merely grabbed his hand and let his warm touch comfort her.

"…Mummy?"

Both adults snapped up at the voice.

"There!" Luka pointed at a relatively box-shaped indent on the wall. They both scrambled to it, prying it apart to reveal a dirty and damp Cereza.

"Mummy!" The girl began to cry as Bayonetta pulled her out and into her arms. "I was so scared when that mean woman came, and when the world got really small and hurt me…"

"Little one…" She hugged the child tightly. "Don't you dare scare me like that again!"

"I won't Mummy, I promise."

Luka behind them let out a huge sigh. "Well, that makes three of us now."

He was then interrupted by a huge screeching of metal burned their hearing, as all three looked back to see the rear end of the plane snap off and fall into the ocean.

"Well, it's a good thing we aren't on that." Bayonetta smiled. "Witches sink to the bottom of any body of water."

"Where's Sephiroth?" Luka looked around for their winged friend. "Shouldn't he be here?"

The colour drained from Bayonetta's face. Handing off Cereza to him, she dove in after the sinking wreckage, casting a breathing spell as she did. Utilising serpent within, she transformed into a giant snake and chased the sinking wreck.

He certainly did not know that witches sunk. And he probably didn't know how to swim.

Entering the wreck, she found him at the bottom of the cargo bay, weakly pushing pieces of metal off himself. He saw her, and his eyes widened, shining with hope. She winked at him, and twisted around, forming a loop. He grabbed onto her, and she swam out. Reaching the surface in no time, she flung him onto the wing, and then burst out and transformed back into herself.

"Well, darling." She spoke first as he breathed heavily. "That makes you the second person to give me a death scare in minutes. Minutes! That's too bloody close for my comfort."

"Its nice to see you too." He replied, smiling. "Thank you."


	15. Chapter 14: Prudence

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't own anything from Bayonetta or Final Fantasy._

"Well, you all look nice and wet." Luka announced as he climbed out of the plane and onto the wing, Cereza in his arms. The pair looked up at him and both frowned.

"I smell like salt." Sephiroth said as he sat up. "Great."

"That is an acute observation, Cheshire." Bayonetta stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Anything else you would like to add?"

"I don't want to be a downer, but now what?" He walked in front of her, his eyes grave. "If you haven't noticed, we are currently stuck in the middle of the ocean with no real way of leaving it!"

"I could fly us over, but I can't carry you all." She frowned and turned to Sephiroth. "Not to mention that power is quite taxing."

"Don't look at me." Sephiroth frowned. "I can't fly with one wing."

"Couldn't you fly before?" Luka frowned back at him. "Back at the airport, when we met."

"I'd rather not." He turned away and ended the conversation. Bayonetta gave him a look but shrugged.

"I'll respect your choice." She turned back to Luka. "How's the little one?"

"I'm OK, Mummy." Cereza answered, her voice small. Bayonetta held a hand out and felt her forehead.

"Jesus Christ, you are freezing!" Her arm recoiled at the touch. "Darling, do you think you could cast that warmth spell again?"

Sephiroth nodded and walked forward, a small flame appearing in his hand.

" _Well, you all survived. Congratulations._ " The Auditio interrupted them from behind, rising out of the sea and splashing the four with a large wave, extinguishing the flame and soaking them all. " _I forget how hard it is to kill a witch._ "

"That's a lie." Bayonetta turned back to face the angel. "You slaughtered the Umbran Elders like they were nothing, Sapientia!"

Sapientia laughed, the mechanical sound booming from it. " _Those Elders were weak and were arrogant with their abilities. They had grown complacent with the passing of time, and none were truly prepared for the might of Paradiso."_

"That's because any of the Auditio had not left Paradiso in centuries!" She argued, moving closer to the angel. "We were unprepared for such a force."

" _We had not entered the mortal realm in centuries because there was no reason to."_ It contemptuously replied. " _You ascending to hold the Left Eye was what brought our attention and willingness to re-enter the mortal realm._ "

"The prophecy?" Bayonetta asked and Sephiroth gave her a weird look. "What does this sodding prophecy have to do with me?"

" _It has everything to do with you._ " It answered. " _The events that were set in motion five hundred years ago would not have occurred if you had not even existed!_ "

"Why!?" She screamed, startling the other three. "Why does everything always come back to me!?"

" _Because you are at the centre of the chaos that is spreading throughout this universe._ " Sapientia stared at her. " _A chaos we cannot allow to grow further. The resurrection of the Creator will allow a new universe, one without Chaos, one with order._ "

"This is the part where I will disagree." Sephiroth stepped forward, Shuraba flashing into his hand. "Remaking the universe will kill everyone in the previous one, and the new one will still have all the problems of the current one."

" _The Father's Experiment. You are just as naïve as your witch accomplice; remaking the universe will allow peace to reign throughout. A perfect utopia for everyone to live in harmony._ " It turned to him.

"That's not what will happen! Forcing something to work will never work!" He argued. "Resurrecting the Creator will destroy everything and everyone inside of the mortal realm!"

" _Impudent creation!_ " It roared. " _Do you think we care for mortal life? They are but a sacrifice for the greater good!"_

"A sacrifice I cannot allow you to make." Sephiroth raised the sword and took his stance. Bayonetta let her hair flow out and took her stance next to him.

"We are doing this one together." She whispered to him, and he nodded.

"What about the others?" He whispered back. "They won't survive this."

"Can you cast an Umbran Barrier?" She asked, and he nodded.

" _You dare challenge me, Sapientia, the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence?_ " It sounded offended and enraged. " _Your arrogance is insulting!"_

Snapping his wrist, a purple barrier appeared in front of Luka and Cereza. Extending around them to form a dome, it snapped into place as Umbran etching flowed through it.

" _Smart, but not smart enough._ " It taunted. " _Once we are finished with you, we will deal with them!_ "

"You're very confident." Bayonetta smiled. "Can you walk the walk, or do you have to be shown how to really court a lady?"

It had enough. Raising one of its legs, it slammed it down onto the wing. Sephiroth jumped to the left, freezing the water to make a platform. Bayonetta jumped to the right, tearing off a small portion of the wing as she did. Landing onto it, she rode it like a surfboard on top of the roiling ocean from the angel.

Sapientia was more interested in the stationary one of the two. It growled, and several lasers shot from its legs. Sephiroth deflected what he could but was pushed back into the ocean. Sending a fist into its left leg, she tried to get its attention. It worked, and the Audito turned to her. It hissed and launched missiles at her.

Bayonetta blinked and began to fire her guns at each, exploding them before they came close. Ducking underneath the swipes it sent at her, she tried to analyse it. It didn't seem to have an obvious weakness, and nothing she could really exploit.

Sephiroth flew out of the water and landed onto the back of the angel, surprising both. Chanting in Enochian, he implored to the depths. A giant iceberg grew out underneath the angel, slamming into its stomach and throwing it up into the air.

 _Go for the head!_ His voice shouted in her mind. _It has armour everywhere, and that is where it is weakest!_

Surfing towards the head, she summoned a fist and slammed it into its forehead/chin/lowest part of its head. The armour barely cracked, let alone dented. Frowning, she reconsidered her options. If she couldn't break it, maybe someone else could…

She starting to dance, letting her power flow through her movements. Twisting, she landed on one knee and pointed.

"IASTA SA PIADPH!"

Her hair left her body and spiralled into a portal. From the depths, across from the partially stunned Sapientia, a giant black and orange spider arose. It roared once, revealing a lava-filled mouth that caused the nearby ocean to evaporate. The angel yelped in surprise and immediately turned and ran. Rolling her eyes, she began to surf towards it.

A giant block of ice slammed into the Auditio's head from the right, turning it to the left. Another one flew into it from the same direction, shifting it a bit more left. Bayonetta immediately understood what he was doing as more chunks of ice pummelled the side of the head. Gesturing to Phantasmaraneae, she made it walk forward until it was right behind the angel.

It took a couple of minutes, but Sephiroth managed to slam enough ice into its head to turn it around. As soon as it was within striking range, the spider demon latched onto its face with its mouth, burning and melting the armour away. Tearing away the fragments that were left, the porcelain face of the angel stared out at them with hatred.

" _You impudent fools!"_ It roared as the spider disappeared and reweaved itself back onto Bayonetta. " _You will die for your resistance!"_

"Oh, please." Bayonetta winked at it, enraging it further. "The last one said that died a horrible death. Now, I'm not finished playing with you yet, so don't go off and die now!"

 _Are you serious?_ His voice sounded amused. _I don't particularly want to fight this for that long._

She smiled. Even he was having a modicum of fun.

Sapientia then leaped up into the air, and then dove under the water. Sephiroth jumped off at the last minute, landing on one of the various chucks of ice still floating about in the water. He landed in a crouch, surveying the waters for their foe.

The water erupted around her as Sapientia re-emerged, its mouth open, from underneath. She barely had time to realize what was going on when the jaw snapped close, and she was swallowed into its stomach.

Summoning out Malphas's wings again, she hovered above the pool of strange liquid inside of the stomach, watching as her impromptu surfboard melted into goop.

"Naughty boy…" She shook her head as she held her nose from the spell. "This is not how you eat out a lady."

Sending a barrage of wicked weaves into the sides of the stomach, she heard it mutely roar with pain. Sending a wicked kick into the wall, she watched with satisfaction as it burst through the stomach and the exterior armour. Flying out, she saw Sephiroth still on his iceberg, defecting missiles with his ice, and Sapientia was bellowing in pain.

" _You are testing all of my patience!"_ It screamed. " _Just give up the Eye!"_

"Why should I?" She answered, flying over to Sephiroth. "You're the one losing right now. And besides, I don't know why you want this stone. It would look awfully bad on you."

The Auditio began to laugh. Within seconds, it was laughing harder than either of the two had ever seen.

"What was so funny?" She turned to the winged man. "Was it something I said?"

"Probably." He answered, dropping his stance and turning to her. "The other two are not faring well."

"What's happening to them?" She glanced back at the plane, and noted the purple barrier was still standing. "Is there something wrong?"

"They aren't in a good headspace. They are also both freezing and hungry." He answered almost robotically.

"Well, shit." She looked back at the laughing Auditio as it seemed to recover its senses.

" _You think this is all about the stone?_ " It chortled. " _That stone is the least of our worries right now."_

"Bayonetta." She turned to face him. "Go to them. I'll deal with this myself."

"What are you planning?" She looked at him in suspicion.

"I'm going to try and teleport you to Isla Del Sol." He answered. "Now go!"

She shook her head as her wings sprouted out again and she took off towards the plane. "Some plan. It better bloody work."

The barrier faded as she approached the pair, and her face fell at their appearance. They were shivering and holding each other tightly, and both looked miserable.

"Cheshire, Little one!" She called to them as she landed. "Grab on!"

"What's going on, Bayonetta?" Luka looked up at her, either forgetting to remind her of his name or simply couldn't be bothered.

"Sephiroth has a little trick up his sleeve that's going to get us all out of here." She answered as knelt. "Now, grab on!"

Just as their hands touched, a white light enveloped them, and they disappeared.

…

Sephiroth dropped his hand and his eyes dimmed. Turning back to the Audito, his thoughts remained on whether his spell was successful.

 _Don't worry so much._ Khepri chided. _If it didn't work, I can always teach you to rewind time._

" _Ahh, Father Balder's experiment. Temperentia used to talk about you a lot._ " Sapientia seemed curious. " _You have had tremendous growth in your power; a worthy successor for the Father."_

"I am no successor, nor do I hope to be!" He snarled angrily, levitating some ice for emphasis. "You should forget about this delusion and leave us alone!"

" _The Father has great plans for you._ " It replied. " _If you will not accept your place, you will simply be destroyed and replaced!_ "

And with that it leaped into the air and dove back underneath the ocean, creating a massive whirlpool as it did. Balancing on his iceberg, he watched as it drew itself closer to the whirlpool and then tipped over the edge.

Sapientia was at the bottom of the vortex, its face split open and four eye tentacles were waving about. Sephiroth blinked at the sight, but payed it no heed. Jumping from the iceberg, he began to fall towards it.

The eyes opened fire, sending up beams of golden light at him. Weaving through them, he began to chant as he prepped a spell that his Lumen side was more then happy to remind him of. Releasing it before he landed amongst the tentacled mess, he launched the meteor at point blank range.

The Auditio screamed with pain as all four tentacles were ripped off by the impact. Landing on the porcelain face, he raised Shuraba and swung it down, splitting it in two.

Sapientia began to thrash about wildly, trying to throw the man from its head. Leaping up from it, he froze the tip of the vortex and landed onto hit, looking down at the flailing angel.

 _Well, now is a good time for you to start fulfilling parts of your contract, if any._ Khepri spoke up. _Summon me, and I will do the rest._

"If you say so." He shrugged and let Shuraba fall back into Inferno. Splaying his palms out, he spread his arms and wing wide as he drew his power.

"PDEE BARMA!" Sephiroth threw his arms forward as he released the spell. A portal to Inferno opened behind the angel, and out came a massive Madama Khepri. The demon winked at him, and then delivered a massive punch to the back of the Auditio. Sapientia roared in pain, then in fear as it realised what was behind it. A second fist rocked the angel, and it began to fall, knocked from its perch.

…

Bayonetta opened her eyes as the white light faded. To her relief, but not surprise, she wasn't dead, and neither were the two people gathered in her arms.

She was kneeling on a road, and tall buildings surrounded her. Looking at their immediate surroundings, she noticed that they were in an alleyway. On the ground lay several plastic tubes and needles, covered in dirt and dust.

"Where are we?" Luka asked as he noticed the ground. "Some sort of drug ring?"

"No." She answered, recoiling at the ground. "This is Isla Del Sol, I'm sure of it."

"Then why does this look like the remains of a goddamn meth lab?" Luka stood up, holding Cereza as far away from the ground as he could. "Isla Del Sol is where the elites of Vigrid live, not a cesspool of humanity."

"Because this is from a lab." She gestured to the floor. "Sephiroth teleported us to the only place he knew on Isla Del Sol that was relatively out of sight; this alleyway."

"Then what is so import-" The colour from his face drained as he realised what the discarded medical items were. "Oh my god..."

Bayonetta nodded, her mouth a grim line. She approached him, looking at the girl in his arms. "Little one. Are you alright?"

Cereza nodded. "I'm alright, Mummy. Are you alright?"

She paused at that. "I am, little one."

The girl smiled at her. Ruffling her hair, she turned to the exit of the alleyway.

"Now, the final step of this weird, fucked up journey begins." Luka spoke to her. "Are you ready, Bayonetta?"

"Cheshire." She smiled to herself. "I was born ready."


	16. Chapter 15: Isla Del Sol

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I own nothing of Bayonetta or Final Fantasy 7._

Isla Del Sol was far more technologically advanced than the rest of Vigrid. Sleek buildings rose into the sky, futuristic cars and trams transported the unconcerned citizens around the soaking wet trio. In the distance, in the exact centre of the spiral island, was an impossibly large building. The place no one of the two adults wanted to go to, but the destination they needed to go to.

"The Ithavoll tower." Luka said gravely. "Never seen it before, and it certainly lives up to the splendour."

"Lead the way, Cheshire." Bayonetta gently took Cereza. "We certainly don't have time to waste."

Cereza's eyes didn't stray from hers. "Are we close to what you are looking for, Mummy?"

She smiled and nodded at the small girl in her arms. "We are, little one. Remember what I told you?"

"Welcome to Isla Del Sol, the Island of wealth and power!" An all too familiar voice said from behind them, interrupting Cereza before she had a chance to reply.

Bayonetta turned, a sinking feeling in her chest. Luka turned as well, his eyes wide, and she flinched from the sight of the witch.

Her outfit was dirty, torn and had obvious patches of blood seeped into it. Her face was drawn into a grim line, and her eyes were sunken in, dark patched surrounding them.

"Jeanne." Bayonetta greeted cordially, and with familiarity. Her eyes narrowed at her former friend.

"Yes…" She smiled in obvious relief. "If you've made it this far, you should be back to your old self. And it seems you are."

"Jeanne…" Bayonetta put down Cereza gently. "We don't have to do this. You're my friend, aren't you?"

"This is where we finish what was started so long ago!" The witch in red pointed at Bayonetta's chest. "That Eye will become mine!"

"This Umbran Eye will never fall into the hands of another." She repeated Jeanne's words from so long ago. "A friend of my enemy, even if they were mine as well, is still my enemy. Be it Witch or Sage."

Luka grabbed Cereza and began to back off from the pair of witches. Bayonetta sent him a glance, her eyes thanking the man's ingenuity. He nodded at her, and then ran into another alleyway, pushing through the Vigridians and out of sight.

"The Lumen Sages…" Jeanne stopped to ponder for a second, looking down. "They were our counterbalance as overseers, until one broke the law that was never to be broken." She returned her gaze to the woman standing opposite her. "And the result of that was you, Bayonetta."

She stared warily at her. "It doesn't matter now. They are all gone, and the past is that; the past now!"

"Your existence is what is allowing the Father to fulfil the prophecy." Jeanne faltered, and a hand massaged her temple. "And with the girl and the experiment about to fall within our grasp, your assistance in the resurrection is not required any longer."

"Your Eye, however, is required." Two guns dropped out of Inferno and into her hands. Bayonetta noticed that she only had one gun on her heel as the witch in red placed one hand behind her back and held the other up, preparing for battle. "As unfortunate as it is for her, it is time for you to end."

The strange wording nagged at her as she grabbed the Scarborough Fair and took a defensive stance. "Her?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Jeanne laughed. "Obviously your memory isn't quite up to scratch. I do like to take the reins properly occasionally, my dear."

Growling, she jumped forward, guns blazing. Bayonetta stood staunchly, waiting to meet her, barely hearing the screams of the Vigridians behind her.

…

Sephiroth watched with apathy as Sapentia fell into Khepri's awaiting arms.

"And so falls the last of the Auditio." He murmured to himself. The Audito roared with pain, trying to break free of the Infernal's grasp, but then was silenced as Khepri dragged it into Inferno, the portal closing with a pop.

 _Why, thank you for your sacrifice._ His patron sounded pleased as she contacted. _It just took you twenty bloody years to do it!_

He smiled at her. "I was very busy not dying, thank you."

 _Your friends made it, by the way._ Khepri went quiet. _That was one hell of a spell. I can honestly say you impressed me._

"That's a relief." He felt that worry fade. "It's time we joined them."

Telepathically, he searched for them. Finding Luka and Cereza, he teleported into the city he had sworn to never return to.

"Shit!" Luka jumped as he remanifested beside him. "Don't do that again!"

"Sorry." He quickly glanced around. They were in an alleyway, away from the population and from prying eyes, but not the alleyway he had sent them to. "Where is Bayonetta?"

"Mummy is fighting with the other witch." Cereza answered, sounding afraid. "Will Mummy be ok?"

"Jeanne…" Sephiroth looked to the buildings and found a pair of familiar presences fighting on one of the sides. "Mummy will be fine."

Luka became distracted, turning away and sniffing the air. "Why can I smell rosemary again? Bayonetta isn't even here this time!"

The presence of Laguna assaulted his senses. "Shit."

Fearing the worst, he tore his way into Purgatorio. The sight of a whole flight of angels heading their way greeted him. "Shit!"

Popping back into the mortal realm, he gestured to Luka. "Find a weapon. Cereza, give him your glasses."

"A weapon?!" The mortal looked at him, dumbfounded. "I don't have a weapon! For what?"

Sephiroth teleported to a random store and grabbed the first weapon-like thing he saw. He came back and tossed it to him as he was affixing the child-sized glasses to his head

"A baseball bat?" Luka stared at him. "Sephiroth, what is going on?"

"They are coming." He replied grimly, grabbing Sharuba out of Inferno. "The angels have found us."

…

"It's my time!" Jeanne spun on her heel as she attempted to deliver a roundhouse kick to the witch on the opposite window. Bayonetta answered with a kick of her own, blocking it and leaving the two in a stalemate. The witch in red merely growled and opened fire with her guns. Summoning a small barrier on her wrist, the witch in black began to move her arm rapidly, deflecting each bullet as they came. Grunting in frustration, Jeanne jumped back, firing at the glass underneath her instead.

Jumping up from the glass before it shattered, Bayonetta sent a wicked uppercut chasing after her. It caught Jeanne, and the witch cried out in pain as she lost control in the air and started to spin wildly. Wasting no time, the witch in black streaked forward with an afterburner kick, slamming into her stomach and throwing her through the building opposite. A massive hole opened where the witch had landed, and the remains of her red outfit floated away in the wind.

Landing in the new entrance way, she immediately took stock of the situation. A small family of four was against the back wall, eyes wide in terror at the witch in their wall. Jeanne was lying on the floor, as naked as the day she was born. Rolling her eyes, she pointed at the door. The family took one look at the witch on the floor, returned their eyes to her and then bolted out of the room.

"You were always considerate for mortals." Jeanne's voice was bitter. "Too considerate for an overseer."

The witch stood up, unconcerned about her lack of clothing. "You have become far too attached to them already. An overseer can't afford to do that, lest they fall to their own emotions."

"I'm not an overseer." She answered, glaring at her.

"Oh, but you are." Her hair flowed from her scalp, covering her body with a tight-fitting grey jumpsuit, not dissimilar to Bayonetta's own. "Accepting the Left Eye is the last step you need to complete before you would've been accepted as the Overseer of Darkness."

"It's a shame we got interrupted by a war before you could." She pointed at her Umbran Watch. "But nevertheless. You will accept your destiny soon enough."

"My destiny is not for some old, grey-haired woman to decide." Bayonetta gave her a smile. "I'd prefer it if I can control my own. After all, I am one of a kind."

"You have no idea how true that is." Jeanne jumped at her, tackling her out of the building. The pair fell, grappling with each other, both trying to gain the upper hand.

"Give into it, Bayonetta!" She screamed. "Accept your fate!"

Bayonetta merely punched her in the jaw, shutting her up. She saw the ground approaching from the corner of her eye and prepared for the impact.

They both slammed into the street. Splitting, they both flipped up to their feet and slid to a stop, crouching in anticipation, focusing on each other. The remaining citizens were running down the street, towards the Ithavoll building. A commotion down the street both had them turn their heads against the flow in curiosity.

"I swear! I'm not crazy!" Luka was talking and gesturing animatedly to a pair of security officers. "My friend over there needs my help!"

"Look sir, you are waving your weapon around in an unnecessarily dangerous and erratic fashion." One replied. "Until you are evaluated, you are not fit to take care of this child."

"She needs my help!" He argued. "You don't understand!"

"My, it looks like your friend here is in a spot of trouble." Jeanne smiled at her. "Aren't all mortals just… pathetic?"

"Luka is not pathetic!" She retorted with a frown, then held a hand to her mouth in shock.

"Awwwww, is someone sad I insulted their boyfriend?" Jeanne wiped a mock tear from her cheek. "And here I was thinking he was a glorified sex toy you had managed to entwine with a spell."

"Luka is not my boyfriend, or of any relationship to me!" She stood up and stared down at the crouching witch. "He is a good friend, nothing else."

Jeanne stood up and smirked. "You still lie to yourself, even after all these years."

She frowned but said nothing. Jeanne looked back over to the four people, and then pulled her glasses on to her face.

"Oh, so that's where you got up to." She pulled off her glasses, replacing them onto her forehead, and turned back to her. "Your friends are all here, just as we planned."

Bayonetta tapped her glasses and looked to see Sephiroth fending off an entire horde of angels, and Cereza behind him in an Umbran barrier.

"Sephiroth…" She whispered, and then understood what Luka was doing. If she looked carefully, she could see the outline of Cereza's glasses on his face.

"Your friends will have to prove themselves as well." Jeanne addressed her, pointing a gun at her. "And stragglers will be left behind."

"They can handle themselves." Bayonetta tilted her head at her, then raised a gun in response.

"Can they?" Jeanne's eyes glinted. "Can he really?"

Bayonetta's face went white and she dropped her gun. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Our Lagunan friends have relished for the chance to return to the mortal realm for an eternity." Her lips curled in victory. "These ones will have the honour of being the first!"

"Jeanne! Don't!" Bayonetta dove at her, but the witch in grey merely snapped her fingers with a smile.

…

"Luka!" Sephiroth screamed as the angels dove onto the man and the two officers, leaking out of Purgatorio like a flood. Tearing his way out of the realm, he slammed onto the pack, tearing and throwing several Affinity's away from the pile.

Eventually, he saw the man lying on the ground, eyes glazed. Dropping down to a knee, he checked for a pulse. Sighing with relief, he found one.

The shield around Cereza was barely holding. Sending a firestorm at the affinities swarming her, he began to feel despair creeping up to him again. He was going to get them killed; what the hell was he thinking, thinking he could go against the Father on his home turf?

 _Your mind is being manipulated, Sephiroth._ Khepri said with urgency. _Find where!_

A Joy was lurking somewhere. He shook his head, trying to not let the thoughts overwhelm him. Grabbing an Affinity that got too close, he tossed it at a group and sent them flying into the street, ignoring the cries of horror of the Vigridians. He let his senses flow out, and he found something in the building to his left. He telekinetically grabbed what was there and threw it onto the street, pulling it out of Purgatorio as he did. A Joy crashed through the window and rolled onto the road. Its head snapped up and gazed at him with anger. Spinning its legs around, it jumped to its feet and struck of a pose. He frowned at it, and then his eyes widened as it split into two new Joys.

"Well, fuck you two then!" He took his stance and stared at the pair, fully aware of the angelic host reforming to his sides. He really hoped that something would happen to turn the tide in his favour.

One of the Joy's collapsed. Luka stood behind it, his baseball bat clutched in his hand. The angels stared at him in surprise, and the other Joy stood there, stunned by the audacity of the mortal.

"Luka!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"The thing you really should be doing!" He swung the bat into the other Joy, crushing its head. "Fight, dammit!"

He nodded, concentrating. If he got out-smarted and squared-up by Luka of all people, neither of his friends would let him live it down. Stepping back into Purgatorio, he found even more Affinities awaiting him.

 _Luka._ He spoke to the man mentally. _Hold on if you can_.

 _You can speak to me in my mind?!_ The reply was panicked. _How I am I going to hold on!?_

 _Just stay alive!_ He said, moving swiftly to engage the screaming Affinities.

…

"You'll pay for that!" Bayonetta screamed as she threw herself at the witch in grey, guns blazing and her hair whipping out wildly. Jeanne began to retreat, her movements betraying her calm visage.

She was terrified of what she had unleashed.

The witch in black began to mercilessly strike at her, sending wicked kicks and punches at the fleeing witch, tearing up both the ground and the street in her fury. Jeanne leaped from the ground and landed onto a nearby building, scaling up it with ease. Bayonetta followed suite, transforming into a panther to close the gap briefly.

"Why are you so bloody attached to that mortal in particular!?" Jeanne looked back at her. "It's a fucking mortal!"

She chose not to answer and fired a salvo of bullets at her. The witch in grey merely swayed back and forth, slipping between each bullet.

"I'm your friend, Bayonetta!" She screamed, jumping over the edge of the building and onto the roof. "I will always be here, unlike him! He will expire long before you age another year!"

"He has done far more for me than you!" She answered, sending a wicked stomp in her direction. "And I don't care about his mortality!"

Jeanne cartwheeled out of its way and stared at her in fury. "He has threatened to kill you, multiple times, and has an obsession over you! How can you care about someone like that?!"

She levelled her gaze at her, letting her hatred shine through. "Because he cares about me, unlike you. You just described yourself, Jeanne!"

"I care about you far more than he does!" Jeanne screamed. "Far more than you could realise!"

"You have tried to kill me! Far more times than he has even entertained the matter." Bayonetta threw her hands in the air in frustration. "How is that more than I can realise?"

"Why else would I chase you around this god-forsaken country, when I could wait here for you to show up?" Jeanne gave her a look. "You are still as oblivious as you were five hundred years ago."

Bayonetta's eyes widened at the implication. "Oh no…"

"Oh yes, Bayonetta." Jeanne smiled wickedly. "The Father made me many promises when he convinced me of his ideals. One of them, was you."

"This isn't the Jeanne I know." She began to weave a spell behind her back, calling upon Madama Butterfly. "The Jeanne I know wouldn't sell herself out to her enemies because of love."

"You think this was all because of love, Bayonetta?" Jeanne shook her head. "You have no idea, what it was like, to be the prim and proper heiress to the Umbran throne, your life full of beautiful men and women alike, all of them waiting to be the suitor to me."

She pointed at the witch in black. "Instead, I fell for the one witch which would get me killed to reveal that was who I wanted. You don't understand how I felt when I had to put you in that coffin, seal you away for five hundred years. Five hundred years! I have waited far too long for you to return to me, my Umbran Sister! And when Jubileus creates a new universe, you will be remade into the perfect lover, one that will never be replaced!"

She stared at the madness in Jeanne's eyes with horror. "You're insane if you believe that." She dropped her guns and gestured to her. "Jubileus does not discriminate and does not pay favours to anyone; it will do whatever it pleases."

"I like how you aren't addressing the elephant in this room, Bayonetta." Jeanne smiled, a gleam in her eyes. "You're still afraid of what truly matters."

"I would rather marry Luka than touch my skin against yours in pleasure." She summoned a gun and pointed it at her. "And to be honest, keeping him around would be more beneficial than a girl with separation issues."

Jeanne's eyes blazed with fury, and her body trembled with rage. "You wouldn't dare…"

She launched herself, arms outstretched, her fingers curled into claws. "You! Are! Mine!"

Bayonetta released the wicked weave she had been holding onto in a direct punch to Jeanne. Throwing the witch back, she landed heavily onto the ground, bouncing once and slammed her head into a pipe. Spinning and sliding along the concrete, the witch in grey collided with the retaining wall surround the building and stayed there, both hands gripping her head tightly. She tried to get back up, but fell back down, curling into a ball.

Bayonetta approached her cautiously. Jeanne was grimacing in pain, and her hands were on her head, gripping it tightly. Her eyes opened and fixated themselves on her. Gone was the golden tinge; grey eyes stared at her with shock. "You… you shouldn't be here. You can't be here."

Her tone had changed dramatically. Gone was the arrogance, replaced now with fear.

"Why should I not be?" She kneeled beside her. This was the Jeanne she remembered, or at least she hoped it was.

"The prophecy, your destiny, it's all tied to that Jewel." Her hands left her head and one pointed at her Umbran Watch. "The Left Eye. We fought for that stone, in my arrogance and foolishness, and because of it everyone died."

"I could have chosen to not accept your challenge." Bayonetta shook her head. "It's as much as your fault as mine."

"Stupid…" Jeanne coughed hard, and she held a hand weakly to her mouth. "You didn't know the full extent of the Prophecy, and why everyone was so fucking afraid of you. It was my fault for having the arrogance to think I could best you, just because I thought I could spite them with you."

"Afraid?" She looked at her with suspicion. "Of me?"

"What, you think everyone had a raging hate for you for no fucking reason?" She shook her head. "You were conceived from the union of an Umbran Witch and a Lumen Sage; the most forbidden of both clan's tenets!"

Her eyes widened at the revelation. "A child born of light and dark…"

"You're beginning to see the bigger picture, aren't you?" Jeanne looked at her, her eyes serious. "You being on this island is exactly what the Father wants!"

"There has to be two, right?" She recalled the strange prophecy from the Umbran Mountains. "Two people who are born of light and dark don't exist right now. That prophecy can't be fulfilled! Right?"

"You still know nothing." She leaned her head back onto the roof. "Not that I should expect you to, of course."

"Jeanne…" She grabbed the witch's hand. "What is going on? Why is this Eye so important?" She swallowed. "Why did you betray me?"

"The Father can be very persuasive when he wants to be." She answered, and then closed her eyes tightly. "He is starting to figure out that I have slipped from his control."

"Jeanne, fight it!" She held onto the hand tighter. "Stay with me!"

Smiling, she pulled out a remote control from her sleeve. "It's inevitable when he does; he can't have me if I'm dead, though." One of her guns reappeared in her hand and she pointed it at her. Retreating backwards, Bayonetta gave her childhood friend a look of horror and shock.

"Please, Jeanne..." She whispered, her voice beginning to crack.

"Get out of here, Cereza. Make sure my sacrifice will not be in vain!" Her voice was starting to tremble, and her eyes were shining with the pain of the mental battle.

"Jeanne!" She screamed as she pushed the button. "Don't!"

Several klaxons wailed out as missiles launched themselves at the building. They smashed into the roof, detonating and sending Bayonetta flying back and towards the Ithavoll Building. Smashing through the glass, she only felt only the numbed pain flowing through her.

She was now the last Umbran Witch.

…

"Holy shit!" Luka cursed as the shock wave threw him down and scattered the Affinities around him. "Are they crazy!?"

 _The Father will stop at nothing to resurrect Jubileus._ Sephiroth shook his head to himself as he conversed with the man. _Not even for his allies or the populace on this island._

The angels began to regroup. They screamed at the trio and pointed at them. Speaking to each other rapidly in Enochulan, they seemed to be arguing.

"Do you, uh, understand what they are saying?" The mortal gripped his baseball bat tightly, ready for anything.

 _I do, but they are talking way too fast for me to understand it._ Sephiroth frowned, trying to make out one of the Affinity's garbled speech.

The Applaud screeched loudly, getting the attention of the rest. It gestured at the winged man.

" _The Father wants him alive, and the girl intact._ "

He began to grip Shuraba a little tighter, feeling a little safer with the weapon. A lone Affinity stepped out of the group, ignoring the hissing from the rest.

" _We say we take them by force!_ " It leaped at the trio. Holding up the katana, he let it impale itself. The Affinity screamed in pain, and then quietened as it perished. The rest of the flock merely opened a portal to Paradiso and slipped out of Purgatorio

Sephiroth threw the affinity away and gestured to Luka. The man ran towards him and waited for him to leave Purgatorio.

"The Ithavoll Building is just ahead." Sephiroth said as he stepped out, gesturing at the barrier. "Take Cereza inside and get her out of this death trap."

"Alrighty!" Luka visibly smiled in relief. "What about you?"

Sephiroth looked at the building where the massive explosion had ripped through. "There is something I have to do. I will be back, I promise."

…

She was lying there, head in hands, curled up in pain. Sephiroth approached her cautiously, immediately noticing the red barrier flickering around her and figured that she used it to escape the explosion. He dispelled it and knelt next to her, taking in her new, grey outfit.

"Jeanne?" He cautiously held a hand out to her, touching her shoulder.

" _The experiment returns, to see this wench._ " Her voice sounded fractured, as if multiple beings were speaking. She turned to face him, her eyes white. " _Why does he? I want to know._ "

"Balder." He spoke the name aloud for the first time, and acknowledged the current personality inside of her. "I don't fear you no longer."

" _Very good._ " Jeanne's mouth twisted into a smile. " _Then you shall take your rightful place at my side?_ "

Sephiroth glared at the possessed woman. "Like hell I will."

She hissed and was immediately trapped by his body as he pinned her down, using all his strength to keep her in his grip. He kept a stony face as he tried to control her, keeping her limbs down.

" _What are you doing?_ " The Enochian was frightened, yet furious. " _You can't be thinking of taking her as your prisoner!_ "

He stayed silent, his eyes glowing as he entered her mind for the second time.

" _What are you doing!?_ " The voice was panicking. " _Get out of her head!_ "

He found the golden chains easy enough. They came to the intrusive presence, each barricading and blocking him from further probing. Whispering the spell Khepri was feeding him, he began to break apart each individual chain, rotting their centre.

Jeanne's body thrashed against his, trying to loosen his grip or interrupt his spell. He ignored her efforts, focusing on breaking through.

" _Stop this at once!_ " The voice hissed. " _Enough!_ "

A gap formed in the chains and he surged through, finally reaching the interior of her mind. Seeing the golden strings connecting her psyche to the outside world, he found the one that was foreign.

" _Don't you dare!_ " Balder was beginning to lose his composure fully. " _I will kill her before you can get me out!_ "

He said nothing and began to wear away at the connection. Jeanne's thrashing increased, and Balder's cries threatened to overload his senses. Blood began to drip from his nose, but he did not care.

She was going to be free again, whether he died or not.

Then it all started to go dark. Jeanne had suddenly gone still, and her psyche was fading. Sephiroth's eyes widened as he finally freed her mind from his influence.

Balder had killed her, as he said he would.

Withdrawing out of her psyche and back into his own mind, he began to take stock of the situation. Her life force was fading, and he was at a loss of what he could do.

Could he cheat death?

 _Yes, mortal._ Khepri's voice spoke with urgency. _Just use this. Quickly!_

"MALPIRGI!" He screamed, pouring all his magic into the word. The world went green, but instead of burning and disintegrating the environment, a warm and welcoming feeling permeated the area. He sensed her spirit return to her body, and he collapsed to the side from exhaustion.

…

Jeanne awoke truly for the first time in one hundred years.

She gasped and struggled to breathe. Memories were rushing through her, each one causing her to flinch and want to scream. What had she done? Where was he? Did Cereza survive?

She sat up, feeling every muscle and bone ache from pain. Her body was broken, most likely beyond repair. Groaning, she saw the ruins of the building surround her, and her guilt grew yet again. She had launched the missiles and had killed countless people on this day alone, if she forgot the past. All because of her selfishness.

She turned to her right and her eyes widened as she recognised the body next to hers. Memories of the last couple of minutes replaced the ones currently swarming her brain.

He had saved her. The one she had put through the most hell, the one she had slaughtered his family for nothing and the one who had every right to send her to Inferno.

And he was nearly dead from exhaustion in doing so.

Hold on a fucking minute; she had died! Her mind began to whirl, and her head began to spin. He had saved her from death! How the fuck did he manage that, of all things?

It was all too much for her. Her head was beginning to pound from the inevitable headache, and she fell back to the ground, hands clutching her temples, eyes closed tight.

A pair of hands caught her.

"Jeanne…" His voice was dry, but full of relief. "You're alive."

Her vocal chords were raw. "I feel like shit."

"That would be my fault." His voice sounded remorseful. "I am truly sorry for what I have done to you."

Would it be? She couldn't recall-

Her body tensed and shivered involuntarily as she remembered Vigrid Airport.

"Why?" She had to know. "Why did you save me?"

"You are what I was to become." He said after a small moment of silence. "And ever since I found out you were being controlled by him, I hoped I could try to get you free."

"Balder killed me." She opened her eyes to see his concerned face looking down at her. "How did you save me from death?"

"Khepri tells me that you weren't exactly dead; Balder ripped your soul out, and it was as simple as a process to catch it and drag it back in." He said. "If I had waited any longer, your soul would've been lost to Inferno."

She closed her eyes again. "That doesn't tell me why you saved me."

"What do you mean?" He asked, confusion in his tone.

"I have done terrible things to you, Sephiroth. I deserve to be dead." She relaxed into the ground. "Let alone what I have done to people who aren't you."

A warm feeling filled her, and she opened her eyes to see his hand moving over her, the remnants of a healing spell fading.

"Trust me." He grinned. "Bayonetta would kill me if she known I'd let you die."

She frowned at the name but smiled. "That she would."

He stood up, holding himself unsteadily. He held a hand out to her. "No one will be dying today, Jeanne."

She accepted his hand and stood up, feeling rejuvenated. "To Ithavoll, then."

He glanced at her. "For me, yes."

"What?" She hissed at him. "I am going with you."

"If all goes to shit, Khepri has promised to teach me a spell that will level this island, and maybe this continent." He looked away from her. "I want every mortal, witch and animal out of the way before I even have the chance to cast it."

She hesitated for a second. "That is… actually reasonable, but no. I am coming with you."

"Don't Jeanne." He looked back at her with pleading eyes. "I risked everything to save you. Please don't throw it all away for vengeance."

She looked down and gritted her teeth. "This accursed island better be destroyed by the time I get back to it."

Turning her heel, she walked away, jumping off the building.

…

Bayonetta sat up and stared at the remains of the building. Curling her legs beneath her, she felt a sob escape her body.

"Jeanne…" She held a hand out, as if her friend would appear and laugh at her and tell her everything was ok. "I'm sorry."

She didn't hear the bell of the elevator to her left, and the mechanical sound of the door opening.

"Is it over?" Luka asked suddenly, and she panicked slightly. Gasping, she turned to see the man looking at her with concern, and Cereza sleeping in his arms.

"What?" He smiled, trying to break the tension. "You're not the only one allowed to scare the shit out of people."

"I don't know whether to shoot you or to take you to Vegas with your luck, Cheshire." She stared at him. "How on Earth did you survive that?"

"You see, Bayonetta, with L-U-K-A, Luka, there is no such thing as luck, only skill." He puffed his chest out, but very quickly straightened out and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, Sephiroth saved me, which is a testament to his skill."

She shook her head at his antics and climbed back to her feet. "How is the little one?"

"Probably terrified, but other than that, out like a light." He glanced at the girl in his arms. "What about you? Do you think I'm going to let myself be seen in public with a girl looking all beat up like that?"

She immediately became aware of the dirt that caked her, the bruises and cuts formed on her and the small tears in her clothing. Quickly repairing the damage to her Umbran Uniform, she returned her attention to him as he clicked his fingers and a lollipop appeared in them.

"Oh!" She accepted it, letting the candy ride her taste buds for a minute. Adjusting her glasses, she began to pace around him.

"I look dreadful, do I?" She teased, poking his shoulder.

"Huh?!" Luka's posture went defensive, and his eyes saddened.

"You'll have to learn to wipe that stupid look off your face, or I'll never let you run around with me all over this world. Got that?" She walked passed him, and towards the double doors she had seen earlier. "Luka."

His eyes widened. Glancing around to see if anyone was watching, he pumped his fist once. "Now that's more like it." He turned and ran after her.

"Where is Sephiroth?" She asked him as he caught up to her.

"No idea." He shrugged. "He'll join us in due time, I imagine. He said he had something to do."

"He better." She stopped in front of the doors. "Although I don't imagine him ditching us at the last minute."

"Neither." He looked at the doors with apprehension. "It's time to end this."


	17. Chapter 16: A Tower of Truths

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I own nothing from the Bayonetta or Final Fantasy 7 universes._

The pair looked at the giant doors with apprehension; Luka was uncomfortable with what could potentially lie ahead, whereas Bayonetta stood there with absolute confidence. Movement from his arms both drew their attention away from the rooms ahead and to Cereza.

"Welcome back, little one." Bayonetta smiled gently at her, placing a hand on her forehead. "How are you?"

"I'm ok, Mummy. I think." The girl answered, placing her own hand on the witch's. "Where's the mean witch? Did you beat her?"

Bayonetta froze and began to tremble, the events of the previous minutes rushing through her mind.

Luka noticed and began to cover for her. "She did! And she made it look easy as well!"

"Luka." She looked at him, small tears pooling in her eyes. "For once in your goddamn life, shut up!"

The man wilted but looked at her in curiosity. "What happened?"

"She was my best friend." She threw her arms around him and held onto the pair as tight as she could without hurting them, her voice starting to crack. "She sacrificed herself to stop his control over her."

Luka quite obviously had a lot of questions, but he held back on that dam. Pushing her back slightly, he gently placed Cereza onto the floor and stood back up, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"She meant a lot to you, didn't she?" He asked, his eyes meeting hers.

"When I was a girl, she was my only friend, my only bright light in the darkness, if we get all poetic." She tried to smile. "She died because she wanted to make sure the Father couldn't control her any longer."

"What was she like?" He asked, smiling gently.

"She was sweet, caring, loyal. She was the Umbran Heir, destined to carry this stone one day. Even when I bested her in our duel to determine the Left Eye, she still had it in her to support me no matter what." She closed her eyes as the tears inside began to leak out. "I think she had more feelings for me than I did for her, and it hurts me that we never had the chance to discuss them."

"She loved you, didn't she?" His eyes widened. "She's the one that sealed you away, wasn't she?"

She nodded for both, then fell forward onto him with an embrace. "I just want her back. She returned, my memories returned, then he fucking ruined it!"

"You loved her, didn't you?" Luka swallowed. "I'm sorry."

"Luka, you idiot…" She began to laugh into his chest. "She's my friend, not my lover."

"Oh…" He replied, a sliver of hope trailing into his voice. Bayonetta looked up, wiping the tears from her cheeks as she laughed harder. Luka visibly deflated, and his eyes did not attempt to hide the hurt in his eyes.

"Don't take it so personally, Cheshire." She smiled, and then winked. "Once this is all over, I promise you one date to impress me."

His eyes bulged out and his mouth opened, then closed. "I never-"

She placed a finger to his lips. "Your eyes do all the talking, Cheshire. Now, get your little act together, because we are going to climb this tower to shove this gun up the Father's ass."

Luka laughed. "That's the spirit."

"Mummy, do you like Uncle Luka?" Both flinched at the voice and looked in embarrassment at the giggling Cereza.

"What on Earth is giving you that idea?" She folded her arms and frowned at the child, feeling a slight blush creep onto her cheeks.

"You're treating him how you treated Daddy." Cereza replied. "Do you not like Daddy anymore?"

The two adults shared a glance. "You certainly have a wonderful imagination, little one. Now come along, we have some climbing to do." Bayonetta walked passed them and placed her hand onto the doors, ready to push them open.

" _My daughter, Cereza. How I have missed you._ " Her hand flew back from the door, and she grabbed her head in shock.

"What the fuck was that?" She turned around. "Did anyone else hear that?"

Luka shrugged and looked at her in confusion, whereas the child looked up at her, hope in her eyes. "Daddy?"

"What?!" Bayonetta's eyes widened. "Oh come on!"

"Daddy is here! Can't you hear him?" Cereza tilted her head.

" _My dear, sweet child, Cereza."_ The undoubtably male voice continued. " _Come hither child. Welcome home."_

"Yes Daddy." Cereza began to walk towards the door. "I'll bring Mummy with me too!"

The doors opened, and white light spilled out, blinding the two adults. Bayonetta recovered quickly, only to watch as the girl walked through the doors, them beginning to close.

"Cereza!" She screamed, sprinting after her into the light with no fear.

"Bayonetta! Wait!" Luka recovered and ran towards the doors, only to watch as they slammed together, separating him from the two females.

"Dammit!" He cursed and eyed the elevator again. "I fucking hope this key card gets me a lot higher."

…

Sephiroth entered Purgatorio as he watched the Vigridians panicking below him. Sitting down on the edge of the building, he wondered what it was like for them. They had witnessed the Lagunan, and him, in less than two minutes. Hell, if they were watching, they could've seen the first visible Umbran Witches in over five hundred years.

 _They would think of it as a divine experience._ Khepri added. _Foolish, naïve mortals._

"It's just as she said. If they truly knew what they were worshipping, they would drop religion in a heartbeat." He mused. "I wouldn't call them foolish; more like uninformed."

 _They are still never worth dealing with._ Khepri snorted. _None of their souls are ever worth it._

"Speaking from experience then?" He laughed, then grew stony faced as he stared down the Ithavoll Building. "I suppose I can't delay this any longer."

 _No, you can't._ Khepri also grew serious. _Go on, Sephiroth._

Standing up, he teleported into the lobby, taking care to still be hidden. Even though he was in Purgatorio, it never hurt anyone to be too careful. Staying in the shadows, he watched as the mortals milled about, the secretaries rushed through, carrying files and what not and the security forces stalked about, overtly tense.

 _They probably heard about you and your friends show._ She supplied. _Be cautious._

He nodded to himself, then began to make his way to the elevator at the end of the room.

 _Ahh, the experiment returns._ Balder's voice flowed easily into his, surprising him. _Welcome back._

"How did you get inside my head?" He began to panic. "Get out!"

 _A creator always finds a way to keep in touch with his sons._ Balder seemed to be laughing at him. _Now, come to me. We have much to discuss._

"We have nothing to discuss!" He spat out. "Khepri, you can get him out?"

 _Khepri? You have progressed much fu-_ His voice was abruptly cut as a giant mental wall was erected by his patron.

 _There, that should do it._ Khepri sounded pleased, then her voice became concerned. _There's something strange going on with you._

"What do you mean?" He asked as he slipped into the elevator, pulling his wing in as he did.

 _I'm not sure what to describe it as._ She replied. _I don't even know why I think that._

"Well, it's obviously not important then." He leaned back as more people filled the elevator, crossing his arms.

 _I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it._ She scolded. _I'll try and figure it out before too long._

"You can do that." He answered. "It's going to be a long ride…"

…

Jeanne strode down the street, not caring about the weird looks the Vigridians were giving her. Glancing back to the burning building, pulling down her glasses, she noticed Sephiroth disappear in a flash of light.

Abruptly turning, she walked back towards the Ithavoll Building, her eyebrows furrowing.

 _So, you aren't taking his advice? Good girl._ Madama Styx finally made her presence known. _Just like I taught you._

 _Stay out of this._ She shot back.

 _I'm right, and you know it._ Styx replied in amusement. _You're doing this to spite him._

Opening a portal to Purgatorio, she walked through and then jumped onto the rooftop of a building. Kneeling, she screamed with all her might, stopping only when her vocal chords refused to continue.

 _Are you done?_ Styx filled the silence.

"One hundred years, and not a peep from you!" Her voice was raw. "Where were you when he caught me, where were you when he forced me to do those… things! Where were you when I slaughtered thousands of people? Where were you…"

 _Now, you think I was willingly letting my contracted witch to be led astray?_ Her patron certainly sounded offended. _Balder sealed away our connection when he mentally reprogrammed you. I've only just managed to restore it now._

"I'm… scared." She whispered. "I'm scared…"

 _Sephiroth had a good point about leaving._ It replied. _You don't have the mental strength right now to help him with the fight against Balder._

"I have to have the strength!" She stood up. "They can't go in there alone, he will destroy them!"

 _Cereza is a far more capable witch that you are giving her credit for. And you know Sephiroth is no slouch either._ Styx reprimanded. _You aren't going to much use in a three on one fight, and you know it. All three of the other people have already soundly defeated you; you are weak, and you know it._

Jeanne stared at the floor, her fragile self esteem crumbling to pieces around her.

 _If you are so bloody insistent on staying, there is something you can do._ Styx's voice took on a softer tone. _You could destroy the laboratories._

Her head snapped up. "Destroy the labs?" Her mind began to whirl. "I can save whatever research Balder has and give it to Seph so he knows truly everything. And because Balder thinks I'm dead, it will be easy to gain access to the lower floors, because my passwords will still work."

 _There we go._ It sounded happy. _You know what to do._

Running, she leaped off the building and ran towards the secret entrance behind the building. Even if she couldn't change the past, she could damn well atone for it.

…

Bayonetta cursed as she ran through the corridors of the building, pushing past the security guards without a care in the world. She had lost sight of Cereza the minute the light had faded on the other side of the door, and she began to run up the tower as a result. Stopping briefly to ask where the CEO's office was, she had remained in motion the entire time.

"Hey! You!" The security forces had now caught onto her. "Stop right there!"

She rolled her eyes. She did not have the time, nor the patience, to deal with non-Luka mortals right now. Opening a portal to Purgatorio, she ran through it, causing the guards to halt, confused.

"Hey! Where did she go?" The head security guard began to pace. "Find her!"

She smiled to herself as she continued up the stairs. Even though she would eventually have to jump out of Purgatorio, staying inside would prove to be a giant boon.

" _BABALON!"_ A giant fist crashed into the wall, tearing it apart. The mortals screamed and ran, whereas Bayonetta turned her head frowned.

Maybe it wasn't a boon after all.

Temperance punched the wall yet again, this time its fist dragging itself through the wall and into the floor. Jumping over the fist, she began to increase her speed. She did not have time for this.

The angel raised its arms, the fingers locking together, and began to fire mercilessly into the corridor, tearing up the ground and exposing more of the building to the outside. Bayonetta ran up the stair and out of sight. Looking ahead, she noticed a barrier forming on the entrance to the second set of elevator shafts.

"For fucks sake…" She hissed as she ran into a room with a giant glass viewing window, not stopping to appreciate the view. "I fucking don't have time for this!"

" _The Father has requested me to test my mettle against you, Bayonetta._ " Temperance rose into view, flicking the glass to shatter it. " _If I am successful, I will take on the mantle of Temperantia._ "

Bayonetta glanced at the two anti-aircraft guns outside of the building. Her first thought was to question why there was anti-aircraft guns on a relatively peaceful island. Her second thought was whether they worked.

" _Prepare yourself._ " It began to float backwards, its fingers locking together again.

She ignored it and cast a time spell, slowing it down to a crawl. Running over to the gun, she hopped on behind it and tapped it once, bolstering it with her power. Aiming it at the head of the Auditio-to-be, she pulled the trigger. Dozens of missiles flew out, slowed down by the time spell. They slowly flew towards the angel in a clump, with the angel slowly realising what was happening. Smirking, Bayonetta clicked her fingers to resume time as normal. The missiles all struck true, blasting apart the angel in seconds.

The barrier faltered, and then failed. Sprinting to the elevator, she pulled herself out of Purgatorio and pressed the button for the highest floor available to her.

" _Clearance Granted. Welcome Home, Cereza."_ An automated voice called to her. She frowned at it, deep in thought.

…

Sephiroth stepped out of the elevator and looked at the stairs in disappointment.

"There is no way I have to climb all of those." He turned back to the elevator and looked longingly at the walls.

 _You can't witch walk._ Khepri laughed. _It looks like you've got to put your walking muscles to good use._

"I call bullshit. I can witch walk if I tried." He closed his eyes and began to harness his power, focusing at his feet.

A few seconds passed, and he sheepishly opened them. "I think you are right…"

 _Of course I am. Now get moving!_ She ordered, and he obliged, turning back to walk up the tower. Moving into the next room, he was surprised to see a familiar angel standing with its back to him.

"Fortitudo?" He asked, placing a hand on his chin. "Didn't Bayonetta kill you?"

The angel turned, the draconian heads snapping at him. The main head smiled at him, and seemingly shook its head.

" _I am but a mere courage, young mortal._ " It answered. " _But you are not mistaken. Bayonetta did slay our progenitor, and now the helm of Fortitudo is up for contention._ "

"So you want the title of the Cardinal Virtue?" Sephiroth asked, summoning Shuraba as a precaution.

" _You are most correct, mortal. And you being the prize of the Father, defeating you will pave the way for my ascension."_ It answered, bowing slightly. " _May the best triumph!_ "

It opened its twin mouths and jumped backwards, through and out of the building, launching fireballs at the winged man. Rolling his eyes, he held up a hand and telekinetically caught them.

"Is this still the only trick you have?" He tossed them to the side, eyeing the flying Auditio-to-be. "Even I can do that!"

Flicking his wrist, he sent a meteorite at the left head and scored a direct hit for his efforts. It growled at him, and then lunged with both heads snapping. Slipping past one, he found himself staring down the other head as it closed its jaws over him.

Teleporting up, he fell onto the head and slammed Shuraba through its skull. The angel screamed in pain, and the second head twisted to breath fire at him. Sephiroth blinked and jumped up, sending arcs of energy from Shuraba at the offending head.

 _A fire-breathing dragon angel._ Khepri commented. _Would you look at that?_

Landing onto the main body, he watched with apprehension as both heads turned to face him. Taking his stance, he began to think.

 _You know, you have more magic available than meteors and energy._ His patron interrupted him. _You can use those, you know?_

"Oh, right." He tossed Shuraba into the right head and began to channel his power again.

"TELOAH ERM MAELPEREJI DOALIM!" He shouted as the familiar green energy shot out of his hands and began to fizzle out. Jumping up and grabbing the impaled katana, he glided back to the relative safety of the building.

" _Is that all you can do?_ " It laughed at him. " _A fireball and a few fancy tricks? You are not worthy-_ "

The world went green as the spell exploded, burning and disintegrating the angel into nothing. Smiling in grim satisfaction, he turned and began to run to the right. He hoped that Jeanne was keeping her word, and that his other three friends were alright.

…

Luka stared at his watch as the elevator dinged and opened. Stepping out, he watched as a group of security rushed passed and into the elevator he had just left.

"There's a disturbance in the basement, citizen." The commander nodded at him. "Please stay clear until the threat has been neutralised."

The doors closed, and the elevator descended. Luka turned around and put a hand to his head.

"Please don't fucking tell me that's what he is up to…"

He cursed as he remembered that the key card only reached this floor. Now he would have to walk.

…

Jeanne entered the laboratories to a familiar sight. A female mortal was being strapped into a familiar chair, struggling against the lab assistants that were holding her down.

"Ahh, Mademoiselle Jeanne." The head scientist walked up to her. "We are about to start the process, and you are right on time. Please, remove her memories for us."

She managed to not flinch as she remembered the title she had forced onto each assistant throughout the years. The woman perked up at the scientist's words and began to scream.

"You can't do this! This isn't right!" She struggled harder, and then something hit her and silenced her briefly.

"Thank you." She remembered to act the part. "This…mortal was getting annoying."

"We exist to please you, Mademoiselle. Will you be requiring a male or female companion tonight?" He asked, looking down as his clipboard. "We have a selection of either, for you to decide."

"I think I'll skip on the pleasures of the flesh tonight." She inwardly shuddered. No need to remind herself of that. Of what... he did to her. Or what she had done to them.

The scientist nodded in understanding. "I see. Best of luck with the Father tonight."

She threw up in the back of her mouth and turned away. She really did not need to be reminded of those nights. "Let's just get this over with."

She turned back and walked up to the panicking woman. Her wide eyes darted throughout the room in terror, and a gag had been placed on her mouth. A memory flashed through her mind as she remembered why this particular step had been implemented…

 _Experiment 10978 was being a pain again. He thrashed against the (to him) invisible Affinities holding him down for the first step of the experiment, the step no one had survived._

" _Why are you doing this!?" His Australian accent continued to annoy her. "You never said this would happen!"_

" _Oh, shut up." She glared at the struggling teen. "You're barely a man. You can understand that life isn't fair."_

" _You promised me happiness!" His green eyes stared at hers in betrayal. "Not…this!"_

" _I promised you nothing." She grinned cruelly as the Father walked in. "He was the one who did."_

" _And happiness is what I shall give you." Balder smiled at him. "Are we ready, Jeanne?"_

" _Any minute now." She glanced at the monitor. "He's too agitated."_

" _Jeanne, calm him." He looked at her. "In any way you can. We need to have all the conditions right for once."_

" _With pleasure." She pulled out her favourite dagger and advanced on the struggling teen._

" _You're going to cut me?!" He screamed. "What the fuck!?"_

" _Not quite." She reversed her grip and slammed the dagger into his chest, letting it penetrate him slightly. "I'm just going to make you forget everything."_

 _Grabbing his head with both hands, she concentrated as she felt his psyche weaken, and his memories began to disappear one by one._

" _No!" He was screaming, but slowly was beginning to whimper. "I don't them want to go! My family, my friends…"_

" _Too bad." She smiled cruelly. "The easiest way for you to calm down is for you to forget why you need to calm down. And I know the Father here would prefer a blank slate."_

 _His eyes were beginning to dull. "Stop…" He slurred. "Bring them back…"_

" _What? Have you already forgotten?" She teased, then yanked the last remaining memories out. Laughing, she continued to pull on his psyche, causing the now comatose 10978 to begin to scream in pain._

She drew the dagger out of Inferno, watching as the mortal began to shake and silently scream. Slamming it into the chair, she leaned over.

"Hold on, OK?" She whispered. "This nightmare will be over soon."

The mortal's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. Standing up straight, she winked at her.

Spinning, she caught the head scientist with a roundhouse kick to the chest, sending him flying into the wall, him collapsing in a heap. Summoning out the All 4 One, she fired three bullets into the three security cameras, and then pointed them at the lab assistants.

"Alright, I don't recognise any of you, so I'm going to assume you don't have the faintest clue about what you just got into." She snarled at them. "Now get out, leave this building and never come back!"

The assistants picked themselves up and ran, leaving only the mortal and Jeanne as the two conscious people in the room. Stepping into Purgatorio, she came face to face with an angry Applaud.

" _What are you doing?"_ It hissed. " _You are still under his control?"_

"Actually, I've had a change of heart." She pointed a gun at it. "Now, you are going to get what you deserve."

Pulling the trigger, she watched in satisfaction as the bullet ripped through its skull, killing it instantly. It dropped to the floor, and Jeanne kicked its corpse into the scientists, slamming them both against the wall again. Satisfied, she stepped back out. Turning her attention to the mortal, Jeanne snapped the straps with a quick pull, and helped the woman up from the chair.

"Are the others still in the 'pen'?" She asked as she felt the woman's arm for any broken bones.

"Yes." The woman answered. "Why are you helping? You're his right-hand woman."

"I was never his right-hand woman willingly." She stood up, content with the woman's health for now. "Free the others. Use this card; it should allow you to automatically open the door for them, and the back door for yourself."

"What about you?" The mortal looked at her with a questioning glance. "What will you be doing?"

"A favour for the only successful experiment the Father has ever done." She looked at the computers and files on the wall with regret. "And then I'm burning this place to the ground."

…

Bayonetta watched with apprehension as the elevator doors opened to the floors mostly forbidden to the public. Not that that was going to stop her.

The initial room was quiet, serene-like it is hue. She walked in, feeling really out of place, and looked around. A circular corridor awaited her, wrapping around the tower and surrounding a gigantic statue. Approaching it, she looked it up and down. It was of a female figure reaching to the sky, and dozens of cherubs surrounding it. Just looking at it made her feel small and insignificant.

"What is this?" She asked herself. "Some fucking statue of god?"

"It's the statue of Jubileus." A male voice called from behind. Sephiroth ran into view, stumbling over himself as he skidded to a halt beside her. "Something I've been told about many a time I was here."

She smiled at his ragged breathing. "Did you really run up the entire tower?"

"Yes." He leaned over, trying to catch his breath.

Turning back to the statue, she gestured to it. "This is Jubileus? Looks like the Virgin Mary if you ask me."

"It's the human interpretation of Jubileus." He corrected her as he straightened himself up. "What it actually is is still a mystery to us. The Father told me that he was carving a statue fit for a god." He looked at it with apprehension. "I'm certain that this thing being completed it not a good sign."

"Well, we can ask him ourselves." She turned to the corridor and spotted the stairs spiralling up. "Let's move on."

The pair began to walk away from the eerie statue, both secretly glad they didn't have to look at it again.

"Why did you not stay with Luka and Cereza?" Bayonetta asked, glancing at him.

"I had something I had to do." Sephiroth answered, hesitating slightly. "So I did it before I got distracted by other things."

"Does it have anything to do with the ruckus supposedly happening in the basement?" She pointedly looked at him.

"What?" He returned it with confusion. "I haven't returned down there since I left. I refuse to go down there."

"If you didn't cause it." Bayonetta looked down as they climbed up the stairs, both spotting an elevator nearby. "Then who is?"

…

Jeanne pulled out the memory drive and tossed it into Inferno. Pulling up a gun, she shot the tower and then slammed into it with a wicked weave. Smiling, she turned her attention to the files. Letting her memory guide her, she grabbed every folder relating to experiment number 10978 and tossed them into a pile. Grabbing the final one, she briefly glanced through its contents. A familiar photo stared back at her.

It was of Sephiroth with both of his wings in an incubation tank. The very tank he had burst out of one year ago. She felt a chill down her spine as she read the date on the corner.

"We tore his wing off that day…"

 _10978 stared at the pair with unbridled hatred as the Affinities chained him to the wall. Balder and herself stared at him with apathy._

" _You tried to escape." The Lumen Sage smiled. "A most noble effort."_

 _His eyes burned with anger. "I hate you."_

 _Jeanne kicked him in the chest and then in the face. "Show some respect!"_

" _Patience, Jeanne." He held a hand out to stop her from acting further. "He will be punished in due time."_

 _The witch in red gave him another kick, and then folded her arms. 10978 looked back up at them, eyes defiant._

" _Your wings are a symbol for you." Balder lifted one of the black wings up and examined it closely. "They give you flight, and the hope you can leave this place."_

 _He turned back to the golden eyes. "Your hopes, however, do not match mine. Jeanne." He gestured to the woman behind him. "Make him flightless."_

 _10978's eyes widened in horror. A giant pink fist appeared behind him and grabbed onto his right wing. Balder held a hand up, and turned to her._

" _Make it hurt, Jeanne." He smirked. "It's punishment, not a clipping."_

" _With pleasure…" The fist disappeared, and the witch grabbed the wing. Throwing him down, she planted a heel into his back and pulled back. He was struggling, but to his credit he wasn't screaming._

 _Twisting it, she heard the bones crack and the tendons rips one by one. He still wasn't screaming. She respected that._

" _My, aren't you a brave one?" She asked, twisting it further. He whimpered in pain in response, and she smirked. "You brought this all on yourself!"_

 _She wrenched hard, and the wing ripped off, and he started screaming finally._

She placed the folders into a box and stored it in Inferno. Turning to the door labelled specimens, she pushed it open and saw the tank containing the witch.

"Rosa…" She held a hand and placed it on the glass. "I'm so sorry…"

Clenching her other hand into a fist, she whispered the counter incantation and watched as her soul left the body, the features relaxing from a frown to a smile.

Voices called out from behind her. Slipping into Purgatorio, she smiled in satisfaction.

It was time for her to leave.

…

The pair exited the final elevator and walked onto a strange, hard-light walkway leading to a golden sphere.

"That must be his office." Sephiroth said quietly.

"It's time to actually end this." Bayonetta replied, looking at him with concern. "Are you ready?"

" **He will pay**!" His voice went demonic as he finally let his anger show. "We are more than ready."

The two began to march forward, unperturbed by the Lagunan presence singing to them. Bursting into the sphere of light, a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

"You are both late."


	18. Chapter 17: You May Call Him Father

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything from Bayonetta or Final Fantasy 7_

The Lumen Sage was a tall, pale man. He wore a long, white robe, a peacock draped over his sholders and a golden half-mask. His silver hair was slicked back immaculately, and his face wore a smile. A haunting, kind smile was his lips, and Cereza was hugging him as if a lost child would.

"Mummy!" The child in question called out to Bayonetta. "Bubby! I found Daddy!"

"Little one!" Bayonetta called back, running down the stairs towards the podium in the centre of the stage. Sephiroth followed suit, staring at the man who had tormented him with unbridled hostility. They ran down, and then stopped as they both crashed into a Lumen barrier.

"Little one!" She screamed as she slammed her fist onto the barrier. The sage smiled as she desperately slammed the barrier again and again. Sephiroth caught her before she could break her fist on it.

"You were always the most emotional witch I had ever laid my eyes on." He began anew. "Never taking a second to think, always ruled by your heart. Such is a trait of the Umbran clan; yet it is taken to new heights by you." Shaking his head, he looked down at the child in his hands. "Isn't that right, my dear, sweet child?"

"Yes Daddy!" Cereza enthusiastically agreed. "Mummy wasn't very nice at first, but now she wants to be with me no matter what!"

"Is that so?" He turned back. "And what of my former experiment? The thing that refers to itself as… Sephiroth?" The name dripped out of his mouth with contempt.

"Bubby is the best!" She clapped her hands. "He can do anything! He makes sure that Mummy and Uncle... Cheshire are safe!"

"Cheshire?" The man shook his head. "I honestly thought you lost that doll long ago."

"Not that Cheshire, Daddy, the other Cheshire." Cereza explained simply. "My new uncle!"

"The other? New uncle? What have they been telling you?" The Lumen Sage frowned, and then flinched as a window behind him exploded. Following a large chunk of metal was a mortal man, a serious expression etched onto his face.

"Luka!" Bayonetta exclaimed in surprise, smiling slightly. "You made it!"

"Well, now this is a family reunion of the ages." Luka smiled at the four people in turn. "We have the daughter, Cerezita." Cereza smiled back at the man, waving her hand.

"The brother, Sephiroth." The winged man nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes focusing on the Sage.

"The mother, Bayonetta." The witch blushed slightly as his choice in words, and his tone.

"And last, the Father, the head of the Ithavoll IT company himself, Balder." The Lumen Sage continued to frown, eyeing the man with an unreadable expression.

"Aren't you all a happy bunch?" He shook his head as he regarded them all. He then turned to the irate Sage standing in the centre of the room. "You know, after I grew up a bit and mother let me, I looked into the last case my father ever took, and there is a lot of unexplained happenings that all tie right back to you."

"Oh. You must be Luka." Balder stared at him, recognition flickering in his eyes. "You are the child of the late Antonio."

"That's right!" Luka smiled in victory. "And you were the person that hired him for his last investigation. And then he dies from accidentally undoing Bayonetta's seal, and nothing comes of it. No reimbursing, no report, nothing!"

"You're beginning to go on the same path your father did." Balder shook his head. "Naïve mortal."

"What do you mean?" Luka looked back in confusion. Bayonetta and Sephiroth looked on in anger, albeit in simmering hate for the latter, as both began to realise what had transpired.

"Luka, Luka, Luka. About the time I started this particular… experiment," Balder gestured to Sephiroth, who stiffened in response. "Your father began to look into to my business here. He was nothing at first, a minor presence in the grander machine, but when he began to disagree with my practices and morals, he became an increasing liability and annoyance. When I discovered the location of what I held closest to my heart, I sent him to retrieve it, and to rid myself of his menace."

"You…" Luka realised what he meant. "You killed him!? You sent him to do your dirty work and killed him for it?"

"Yes. Jeanne and I were preoccupied with other matters, and we could not spare ourselves for such an expedition without progress being lost. He was the perfect volunteer; he was the most curious mortal I had ever seen, far too curious for his own good. And now you will suffer the same fate as him." Balder finally smiled. "It's poetic, really. Like father, like son."

"Wha-" Luka suddenly felt himself being lifted up into the air. "What-"

Bayonetta's eyes widened as she realised what fate had truly befallen Antonio all those years ago. Angels burst into the mortal realm and had grabbed each limb and began to pull in each direction, trying to rip him apart. Cereza had seen what was happening and had begun to scream, hiding her face onto Balder's shoulder. Luka also started to scream as his limbs stretched and contorted. Bayonetta had restarted her assault on the barrier, punching into it desperately.

"Luka!" She screamed in desperation, a wicked weave slamming into the barrier to no avail. Balder smiled at her antics.

"A soft spot for a mortal?" He sighed. "The emotions of a witch. You can't penetrate that, only someone with equal power can. Not some demon-infested girl."

Bayonetta glared at the Sage. "I'm just glad I did bring someone then!"

Sephiroth's palm exploded as a massive meteor smashed against the barrier and tore through it. He then sent a firestorm into the room, incinerating the angels instantly. Balder had no choice but to erect a smaller, but stronger barrier around himself to keep him from dying, and Bayonetta threw herself at Luka to protect him.

As the fire cleared, the five of them remained. Balder drew himself back to his true stature and levelled his gaze at the one-winged man standing across from him. Luka and Bayonetta looked up at the two from their position, and then back to each other.

"Luka, get out of here." Bayonetta whispered to him. "You're not going to survive anything that might continue on in here."

"I agree." Luka whispered back. He then blushed as his eyes met hers again. "I'm sorry for the accusations, I really, really am. I hope you can forgive me."

"Cut the semantics, Cheshire." Bayonetta blushed slightly. "Just get out of here before he obliterates the tower and everyone in it."

Luka nodded. Scrambling to his feet, he ran up the stairs and out of the study. Bayonetta gracefully stood up and turned to the two men staring at each other.

"You have grown much, 10978." Balder smiled thinly. "Such power is what I imagined for you when I created you."

"My name," He angrily whispered. "Is Sephiroth! It's not a number; that means nothing to me!"

"Ahh, a name." Balder nodded in approval. "Sentience does suit you. However, that is not your name."

"What?" Sephiroth replied uncertainly. Squinting his eyes, he frowned at the Sage.

"You see, when you survived the second treatment and the subsequent exposure to Jeanne, I began to place precautions in case you decided to and succeeded at leaving." He shifted, and then smiled at him. "A sleeper spell, designed to make you into the perfect experiment."

"A sleeper?" Sephiroth's eyes widened, and he began to back away. "You're lying! You have to be!"

"I had plenty of opportunities to simply have Jeanne activate it. I chose not to, because in your stupidity, you decided to simply walk right back here." Balder gestured to the two people facing him. "Two children of light and dark. At last, the conditions are nearing completion."

"I don't have an Eye of the World." Sephiroth backed against the door, trying to open it. "And there is no fucking way I am fighting you for yours!"

"Unfortunately, Damien, you won't have much of a choice." Balder shook his head. "Don't you know why your eyes are gold?"

Sephiroth bolted upright, the colour draining from his face. "What did you call me?"

His voice did not hide the terror he was showing.

"Your name is Damien. I made Jeanne make you forget that, don't you remember?" He taunted, slightly smiling.

"I have a name?" He was shaking. Bayonetta wanted to step forward and stand by him, but something told her to stand back.

"Yes, Damien." Balder's eyes glowed as his power began to visualise. "As the old legend states, names have power," He placed his hand onto Cereza's shoulder. "And they always will. You are here to accept your place by my side, are you not?"

Sephiroth began to sway as something began to invade his mind. "Yes. Father."

"Sephiroth?" Bayonetta reached out to him. He snapped upright and slapped her hand away.

"My child, look at your brother." Balder began to speak. "For he has accepted his power, and his true potential."

The two wings sprouted out of beneath his coat. His blonde hair began turned silver and began to grow. His eyes began to glow white as Balder's influence grew stronger.

"Daddy? I don't like this." Cereza whispered. "It's scaring me."

Bayonetta knew what was coming next and didn't like it one bit. "Fight it, Sephiroth!"

"It's no use, Bayonetta." The name also dripped out in distaste. "For he is now mine, as he was created; the true Umbran/Lumen hybrid. Now, go and fetch her Eye for me. I desire it much so."

Shuraba appeared in a flash. He took a stance, and then spoke.

"My destiny is to wield the Right Eye, as both a Lumen Sage and an Umbran Witch." His voice was now a dry monotone. "I will begin my service to Jubileus by taking the Left Eye of the Umbran Clan and delivering it to the Father for the reawakening."

Bayonetta grimaced but took her stance, her promise to him repeating itself through her. "The treasure, Our Umbran treasure, will not fall into another's hands!" She spoke in defiance, her eyes blazing. "And neither will he!"

Balder and Sephiroth spoke as one. "Then we will take it from your corpse!"

And the battle begun. He lunged at her, blade flashing. She parried it and gave him a kick to the stomach. Winded, he fell to his knees.

"Sephiroth, fight it! I know you are in there!" She dropped her guard. He snarled and dashed forward. Barely realising, she activated witchtime and began to weave her hands around, using the Scarborough Fair to deflect the furious barrage of swipes he was dealing in the split second.

Resuming time as normal, she turned around to find him behind her, already relentlessly attacking her again with swipes from the sword. Weaving through the combination, she struck at his chest, sending in a barrage of punches. His left hand moved with unnatural speed, deflecting each fist. Catching one, he spun around and launched her into the walls of the auditorium.

Crashing into the chairs, she groaned in pain, then stood up. From behind, Balder was smirking at the pair, with Cereza looking at the pair in worry.

"Stop fighting!" The girl said, burying her face into Balder's shoulder. Sephiroth paid her no heed and started to circle her.

"Show me your potential, Damien." The Sage called out. "Show me what you have learned!"

The silver haired man clenched his fist and drew it to his chest. His eyes began to glow brighter as the wind throughout the room began to pick up.

"Sephiroth, please!" She held a hand out, imploring to him. "I've already lost one friend today!"

He ignored her, gesturing to the heavens. Glancing outside, she noticed a meteor storm approaching, aimed at the tower's tip, and everyone inside of it. Jumping to the window, she summoned Madama Butterfly's fists, letting her push the rocks out of the path of the tower.

Sensing something from behind her, she ducked down as the Shuraba snaked into her vision. Kicking his knee, she slid underneath him as he fell down, grabbing his ankle as she stood up. Tossing him across the room, she sent a wicked kick into him and winced as he crashed through the wall and out onto the roof of the building proper.

She turned at pointed a gun at the Sage. "Let them go."

"You haven't defeated him yet." Balder smiled at her. "And why should I? You are hardly in a position to bargain."

"I don't want to fight anymore." She dropped her gun arm, looking down. "I just want to go away from this nightmare."

"It's funny. You felt the same when your mother died." Balder moved forward, stroking his chin. "A witch's emotion was what destroyed the clan, and is now what will wipe it out."

"You killed the clans!" Bayonetta retorted, the fire jumping back into her eyes. "Not the weakness of the Umbra!"

"But it was. The ability to emotionally react to the mortal's betrayal left all the Umbra vulnerable." He tilted his head. "Just like your inability to disconnect."

Sephiroth flew past him, slamming into her and throwing them both to the ground. He grabbed her throat and placed Shuraba on it, the blade slightly biting into the flesh. She froze, unwilling to believe her friend would think of doing such a thing.

"You see, the reason why we won the war, and Damien here won the battle, is because we were willing to part with any connection, any relationship we had in order to achieve our true goal." The sage spoke. "You can't disconnect Damien the enemy from Damien the friend. That is why you fail."

She began to ignore him and focussed on the emotionless man holding her down. "Sephiroth, please, I know you are in there!"

He stared back at her blankly. "Sephiroth is not my name. It was a name this weak vessel named itself to give itself an identity, so it could feel more… human."

He began to squeeze her throat tighter. Bayonetta saw dark spots prickling at the corners of her eyes as she began to struggle to breathe.

"Damien, please…" She choked out. "Please, don't go…"

His eyes hardened. "You think you can win me over through pity? The Father has promised me more than your petty excuse of companionship. He has promised me paradise!"

"You're…my…best…friend…" She gasped out, nearly ready to fall unconscious. "I… don't care… about the past… I just… want… you… me… Luka… Cereza…"

She weakly reached up and touched his cheek. "Family… our family..."

His grip loosened immensely, and her head fell back and hit the ground hard. Damien looked back at her, shock etched onto his features. He turned to look at Balder, as if in confirmation. He turned back, his eyes returning to their unnatural golden shade. Bayonetta noticed and almost smiled but didn't quite have the strength to do so.

He was back.

"Go on, take her life; claim the Left Eye as your own, as you were created to!" Balder said from behind. "Do as your destiny require!"

"I am…" Damien started, then turned and glared defiantly at the Lumen. "Not your weapon!" Dashing forward, he attempted to slice through the Sage and end it all. Sighing with dramatic flair and shifting the terrified Cereza around to make himself more comfortable, Balder snapped his fingers and he froze mid-leap.

Approaching the paralysed man, the Sage seemed to be disappointed, if anything. "I had such high hopes for you, Damien. I felt that, even though you had escaped and taken my chances of the resurrection, you would always come full circle. And here we are again; the ultimate failure."

Bayonetta had recovered enough to leap at him, but he merely held up a hand and telekinetically threw her back. "You grew far beyond what I thought, what the angels thought, what the Audito thought was even possible. You could've been the right hand of Jubileus, as they remade the world for a true order!"

"No order…" Damien gasped out, partially breaking through the paralysis spell. "Is better than what you desire!"

"Is it really?" Balder tilted his head as he studied the Shuraba. "You were rejected by mortals when we found you and are rejected by mortals now from what you've become; even you would agree they deserve this."

"We aren't gods." Bayonetta stood up, trembling slightly. "We are observers, Overseers of the light and dark, protectors of the mortals; not their controller!"

"My child, you have so much to learn." Balder smiled as he turned to face her. "Mortals destroyed your life and your only family; surely even you would want to wipe the slate clean."

"Never!" Bayonetta fired her guns, unloading into Balder. He merely rolled his eyes, clicked his fingers and time slowed to a stop. He grabbed the bullets, one by one, and reversed them into her. When time resumed, she barely recognised that the bullets were now flying at her and needed to dodge lest be shot. Throwing herself to the side, she landed ungracefully on her stomach and turned to face the Sage.

"Now, don't be afraid." Balder began to walk towards her. "We will fulfil the prophecy together. We must-"

A roar from behind him interrupted that train of thought. Fully breaking free, Damien had launched himself again, this time Shuraba was wreathed in flame and aimed directly at his skull. Sidestepping him at the speed of light, Balder grabbed the sword and wrenched it from his grasp. Flying into the wall, Damien only had the ability to look up to see Balder shatter the blade in two.

A primal scream filled the air as the weapon-less man threw himself at the Sage for a third time. But this time, Balder had decided he had had enough. Pulling his leg back, he aimed for the midsection and kicked the winged man into the wall, stunning him. Splaying open his fist, a golden laser of light fired from his palm and hit the defenceless man in the chest, blowing him through the wall and out of the top of the building.

"No!" Bayonetta screamed as she ran to the hole and could only watch as Damien plummeted from the top of Ithavoll. She turned back to the smirking Balder and the terrified Cereza. "You monster!"

"Well, I guess my plan has gone right out the window." He laughed. "Such a shame that sacrifice had to made."

"You are truly beyond salvation, monster." Bayonetta glared at him with contempt.

"He was the monster, my dearest." She couldn't tell if he was talking to her or the girl in his arms. "Such a creation should have never been allowed to live, even if he was necessary for my plans."

"He was a human! A living being!" Her eyes blazed with fury.

"And as such, the creator can destroy." Balder smiled. "His life was not worth keeping him around."

"Daddy?" Cereza's weak voice halted the pair from their verbal battle. "You created Bubby?"

"Yes, my child." Balder turned to her. "He wasn't born your brother, but then I made him yours. No child should ever be alone; I swore that when I found out how the other witches treated you."

"You made me a Bubby?" She looked confused.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Bayonetta's eyes furrowed in confusion.

"Watch your language." Balder reprimanded. "I simply converted his DNA and genes into that of me and your mother."

"What does that mean, Daddy?" Cereza asked.

"I added the necessary things that make you, you." Balder smiled. "He was your half-brother, in a sense."

"You tore his genetic family away from him?" Bayonetta began to tremble with rage. "You're fucking sicker than I thought."

"It was all for this." He tapped the corner of his right eye. "As part Lumen and part Umbran, he was supposed to activate the true potential of the Right Eye of the World, as you will with your Left Eye."

He spread his other arm out, gesturing to the scripture on the walls. "It was prophesied that two children of light and dark would gain the ability to reawaken either the Creator or the Destroyer through the powers of the Eyes of the World, and as such the wielders of the light and dark swore to never allow any union between them to come forth. When you were born, Cereza, the clans feared that the second child would come into fruition and the prophecy would become true. The Umbran and Lumen came to an agreement that you were never to be trained, never to be shown the power of light or dark; that way we could both know that the existence of a child could be wrought, but not continue the prophecy. The witches lied and began to train you in secret, to be a weapon that could be deployed against any foe. That backfired when you inadvertently arose to become the holder of the Left Eye, to which my fellow Sage's fears began to cloud their vision and they tried to kill you before another child could be conceived. We failed, but in our efforts, we turned the populace of Vigrid and Europe against the Umbran Arts, and they finished all of you for us. All but two; the one we wanted dead, and her best friend."

His eyes hardened. "Then that meddling Jeanne hid you away. She never told us where you were, even though she was my puppet for a hundred years. Since you were still alive, and Jeanne had wisely made herself infertile to prevent me from getting my children the natural way, I needed a new method to get those were both of light and dark. I decided to try and make my own Umbran/Lumen hybrid, using mortals as the experiments, and the cells from me and your mother. Only one survived all we could throw at him, and now he is dead."

"My name is not Cereza." Bayonetta snarled. Balder rolled his eyes.

"You'll find, my sweet child, that it is." He answered. Her eyes widened, and she began to connect all the dots, all the clues into one possible conclusion.

"You are not my father!" She screamed in horror. "My father can't be a monster like you!"

"I was hoping for a more amicable reunion." Balder shrugged. "I am Balder, I am the last of the Lumen Sages, but you may call me your father."

"Mummy?" Cereza's voice called out. "What's going on? Daddy's scaring me…"

"Don't be scared, my sweet child." Balder was speaking to both. "Since the rebirth of Jubelius is inevitable, and I don't have a suitable candidate for the holder of the Right Eye, it seems I have to put my daughter to use. Do you want to help Daddy?"

"Little one!" Bayonetta interrupted her before she could answer. "Don't!"

"Mummy!" Cereza cried out, clearly in distress, she turned to her and held her arms out. "I want Mummy!"

Balder's eyes went venomous. "You turned my daughter against me."

Bayonetta merely met his gaze with a look of pure defiance.

"Never the matter." He let Cereza fall, catching her telekinetically. "The participants don't have to be willing."

She realised what he was going to do and jumped forward, trying to grab her.

She was too late, and Cereza was absorbed into Balder. He glowed a bright white, then blue, then dimmed down to a deep blue. He gasped at the newfound power surged through him, revelling and relishing its potential. Two wings sprouted from his back, resembling the tail of a peacock. Blue lines ran down his clothing, giving him a tranquil look, meeting at his chest where the sleeping head of Cereza rested. He looked down at her and smiled, his right eye glowing blue. "Now, my dear, sweet child. We will awaken the Creator and lay the path to a new universe, one full of order!"

"You aren't going to fucking succeed." Bayonetta drew herself into her stance. "You will have to kill me!"

He shook his head in disappointment. "You will rethink that, my child."

Bayonetta sprung forward, and Balder glided forward to meet her.

…

Jeanne watched the chaos at the top of the Ithavoll tower unfold amongst the gathering crowd. They had begun to congregate when someone saw meteors heading towards the tower, then them being deflected by giant fists. She had a sinking feeling that Balder had either Cereza or Sephiroth under his control, and the battle for the Eyes of the World had begun truly. The remote control for the city's defences remained in her grasp, her thumb fingering the trigger.

She wasn't prepared in the slightest when a winged figure was launched in a flash of golden light out of the top of Ithavoll. The crowd gasped and pointed at it and she just stood there, mesmerised.

Sephiroth had been beaten. Whether this meant Cereza had fallen to Balder and the end of the world was near, she did not know. She hoped not, because there was simply no way she could fight both Cereza and Balder at once. She would die trying, but the end of the world would happen.

She noticed his wing was flapping around, and his arms were waving about, like he was trying to regain control over his movement. He was still alive.

With no hesitation, she sprang into action, leaping from the ground and startling the crowd. Landing on a light post, she jumped onto the walls of Ithavoll and launched herself to intercept the falling man. Colliding with him, she grabbed him and slowed his descent, albeit landing heavily on a nearby building. Cushioning his fall, she landed underneath him and nearly was crushed by his weight.

Pushing him off her, Jeanne decided that laying there seemed like a terrible idea, all things considered. Sitting up, she noticed that he was trembling. He looked different. She tilted her head in confusion. They had met just an hour ago. What in the blazes had caused his hair to grow out and turn silver? Why did he have two more wings from his hips? He looked more like a Lumen Sage than a human now.

"I'm me, it's all me, no Balder…" Words poured out of his mouth, and his eyes were closed tightly in pain.

"Sephiroth?" She asked, unsure of what to do next. He opened his eyes and looked at her with a look of awe and surprise.

"Jeanne…?" He croaked out. "You stayed? You saved me?"

She managed a smile. "That I did." Her face then went serious. "What's happening up there?"

"Bayonetta is fighting Balder, most likely." He looked up at the building as he sat up. "He tossed me aside, as my usefulness finally ran its course."

Jeanne stood up, and then helped him up. "Her name is Cereza."

"That's the little one." Sephiroth stated, as he resummoned Shuraba, checking over the shattered blade, letting the shards fall to the ground. "Rodin is going to kill me…"

"Quick rundown; the Little one is Cereza." Jeanne shook her head. "Balder pulled her from the past to the present, in case you died or was lost from us permanently. She just got lost in transit, and you two idiotically bought her to where she needed to be."

"What?" He looked at her dryly. "You're fucking with me."

"I'm not." She turned their attention to the top of the tower. "We need to help her."

"I'm going to." Sephiroth turned to her. "You should evacuate this crowd. If worst comes to worst, then they're all going to die faster."

Jeanne began to indignantly protest, but then thought better of it. Nodding to him, she watched as he discarded Sharuba onto the building and jumped up, bouncing from building to building as he climbed his way back up Ithavoll. If she couldn't beat Balder the first time around, and Sephiroth had beaten her in their last meeting, then he fared a greater chance against the Lumen Sage.

Picking up the shards of the katana, she tossed them into inferno, mentally placing a reminder to return them to the weapon smith of old. Grabbing out the All 4 One, she took aim at the top of the building, picking out the Lumen Sage easily, and fired twice.

…

"Your skill as an Umbran Witch is unequalled." Balder complimented her as he regrouped. "But your power as an overseer is wasted."

She didn't take the bait, and instead focused on him. He was swift, just as fast as she was. He was strong, both physically and in the Lumen Arts, a proficiency he was sure to use. Could she beat him? Possibly, but it wasn't necessarily going to be easy.

"You still aren't using the powers your Eye possesses." He mocked her. "Why not? Are you afraid of your destiny?"

She ignored him and launched forward, kicking his gut. He doubled over, gasping. Kneeing him in the face, she swung her body around and attempted to roundhouse kick him into the wall.

It connected and threw him into the wall, just as planned.

"Impressive." He said, pulling himself down. "But not impressive enough."

She frowned, and then got knocked back by a bright light from his hand. Groaning, she remembered the laser was still something he could utilise. The ground then left her, and she found herself staring into his eyes.

"Where is your power that you are hiding, my dearest?" He asked her, his eyes searching hers. "Let it out."

A golden glaive appeared in his right hand, and he threw her at the wall. Smashing into it, she felt it give way and fall from the building. Looking up in a daze, she saw Balder flying after her, glaive stretched out.

 _So that's how you want to play…_ She thought, and then cast a time stop spell. The falling platform-wall slowed in its descent to a trickle, alongside the rubble beside it. Balder, however, was still falling towards her at the normal speed.

Shit.

Deflecting his strike, she played defensive whilst she tried to study his technique. He was fast, and flowing, and the similarities between him and Sephiroth were chilling. The only true difference was that he was trained with the weapon and was very willing to exploit something if he could find it.

Summoning a wicked punch, she tried to retake the offence. If her theory was correct, then his defensive skills wouldn't be that crash hot and she could turn the tide back into her favour.

She couldn't have been any more wrong. Balder sidestepped the weave and swatted her head with the flat edge of the blade. Becoming disorientated, she barely noticed him flying back.

He implored to the heavens, chanting in Enochian. Bayonetta looked up, trying to figure out what was happening, and then the world went white as a laser shot down from the skies. Screaming in pain, she felt her witch time spell begin to falter, but not yet break.

The laser stopped, and Balder had charged in, his glaive swinging for her neck. Blocking the blows as they came, she began to retreat, giving him more ground and sending her closer to the edge. Ducking under a blow, she swept his legs out and kicked him back with a wicked stomp.

"AVAVAGO" She screamed, summoning Gomorrah. The Infernal appeared behind the pair and immediately began to chew on the Lumen, savagely chomping on him. A large barrier of light emitted from the Sage, trapping the jaws open. Balder floated outside of the barrier, turning to kick it into the throat of the Infernal and snapped its neck, all in one clean motion.

Bayonetta did not try to contain her surprise or shock. The Sage turned to her, wiped his hands and gave her an arrogant grin.

"TOLEC VOVIM!" She summoned again, and Scolopendra dove out of the building, wrapping itself around the Sage. It screamed into the air, trying to constrict and crush the Sage. However, Balder exploded the demon with a burst of bright energy, spreading his limbs out. The bloody flesh of the demon landed around her, amidst her growing fear of the floating man.

Balder charged down at her, glaive reappearing in his left hand. He swung it in an arc, aiming for her midsection. She blocked the blow, but the strength of it jolted her arms, leaving her open to his punch. Crumbling, she fell to the ground, feeling blood pool around her teeth.

"You are nothing, my precious daughter." Balder proclaimed, dispelling his glaive and spreading his arms out as she lay on the wall. "You are not worthy of the title witch, not worthy of the Umbran Eye and certainly not worthy of the title of my daughter!"

Bayonetta spat blood from her mouth. "Like I bloody wanted to be, Sage."

He ignored her. "The Left Eye has not awakened, even though the prophecy has been met." He turned away, seeming to ponder. "What have I done wrong? Oh, Creator, what have I done wrong?!"

"I told you before; I ain't fucking going to let this happen." She pulled herself to her feet, stumbling towards the floating Sage. "You will lose, Sage, even if I die for it!"

"What, you're going to defeat me?" Balder turned back to her, smiling softly. "You've already lost."

A quick swipe from his glaive sent her flying towards the edge and she struggled to stay onto the platform. "You can't defeat light with darkness; the light encompasses all." He began to stalk her as she saw something flipping between buildings, rising towards them from below. "And soon, so will order."

She recognised the figure and smiled with relief. Turning back to the sage, she tilted her head. Two bullets came from nowhere and slammed through his right forearm, causing him to drop the glaive and grab his arm in pain. He glared at the ground, pinpointing the almost invisible figure instantly.

"You…" He growled, and then turned back to her. "Never the matter; you can't win now."

"Oh, I'm not going to defeat you." Summoning both a boot and a fist to strike at him, both slamming into the surprised man and knocking him up into the air. Pouncing like a tiger, she grabbed him and slammed him into the ground, both facing the building as the figure arrived.

Damien arose, like a phoenix from the ashes as the pair stood up on the wall. The Sage turned in surprise, and Bayonetta smiled a bloody smile.

"He will finish you for me." She grinned like a madman, and Balder's eyes widened in a new, unknown emotion, that the Sage had never truly felt before.

Fear.

The winged man slammed into the sage, his fists pummelling the face of his tormentor.

"Don't kill him!" Bayonetta pulled him away. "That's Cereza in there; you might kill her too!"

Snarling, he spread his arms out wide, calling out to the heavens, imploring for their power. As if in response, the satellite Balder had been utilising shot down, it's targets now not Bayonetta any longer, but its creator.

"No!" Balder screamed in agony as the laser blasted into him, stunning and incapacitating him for the briefest of moments.

"Seph-Damien!" She called out, pointing towards Balder's chest. "Separate them, now!"

In those precious moments, Damien struck. Pouncing onto the Sage, he reached in mentally and physically. Pulling apart the psychic barriers holding Cereza in, he pulled once, sharply and with great precision, and took the Sage's daughter out.

Quickly retreating, he clutched Cereza tightly and possessively. Balder had returned to his original state, but his normally emotionless face was filled with anger.

"You dare to interfere?" He howled, then began to fly towards the siblings, hands stretched out. He instead ran into a fist from Madama Butterfly, and flew backwards instead, towards Bayonetta. Reapplying witch time, she pulled out her mother's lipstick tube. Placing it into the ammo slot of her right Scarborough Fair, she took aim.

"Don't fuck with a witch!" She snarled.

A small voice inside of her pleaded with her not to shoot. This was her father, and her only one, and killing him would mean her true family would be all dead. Another voice asked her if she could live with killing her own father. Could she live, knowing her own kin was slayed by her own hand?

Hell yes, she could.

She stopped hesitating and pulled the trigger. The lipstick fired away, flying straight into the forehead of Balder, burying itself halfway through his brain and killing him instantly. The body went limp, and then began to fall faster as gravity fully held onto him. Turning her attention to the other pair, Damien gestured with his empty arm. Understanding, she let time continue as normal and leaped into his arm, letting him carry the pair down to earth.

Landing onto a nearby rooftop, the three stayed together in a huddle. Damien held the girls against him, comforting Cereza and giving Bayonetta a small healing spell.

"Mummy?" The terrified girl opened her eyes and looked to the older woman. Bayonetta smiled at her.

"It's over, little one. The nightmare is over." She took her from Damien's hands and held her tight, as she imagined their mother would. Cereza began to sob into her shoulder, and she did not blame her at all. In her position, any one would've been terrified. Crooning softly, she whispered words of love to the child.

She heard Damien weaving a spell together from behind her, and she turned to face him. Splaying open both hands, she saw a small portal open from the ruins of Balder's office that had fallen around them.

"It's time we put her back where she belongs." Damien turned and faced her. She nodded, then followed him into the portal.

…

A room that could only be described as a prison greeted them. A small cot was placed in the centre, and a small chest of drawers was off to the side. The walls were made of metal bars or concrete blocks, and there was no colour in sight.

No wonder why Cereza had loved that hotel. Anything would've been better than this.

Walking over to the bed, they placed the trembling girl in the centre of it, both adults taking care to tuck her in.

"Mummy?" Cereza whispered. Nodding at Damien, who stepped backwards to give the pair a little privacy, Bayonetta turned back to the child.

"Yes, little one?" She smiled weakly, her resolve slowly breaking.

"Can you sing me the song, the song you always did?" She requested, looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Of course, Cereza." Her eyes watered as she began to sing, lyrics from an unknown song flowed from her mouth, each line causing tears to fall out.

" _Fly me to the Moon,  
Let me play among the stars.  
Let me see what spring is like on  
A-Jupiter and Mars.  
In other words, hold my hand.  
In other words, baby, kiss me._

 _Fill my heart with song, and let me sing for ever more.  
You are all I long for  
All I worship and adore.  
In other words, please be true.  
In other words, I love you."_

Cereza had fallen asleep, and Bayonetta broke down. Ugly sobs wracked her body as she buried her head in her arms. She cried for Cereza, and how she had lived a life no child should deserve. She cried for Damien, who had never known what it was like to be normal, and had known nothing but a tortured experience. She cried and mourned the loss of her best friend, the betrayal and monster of her father and for the bastardization of her mother. She cried for herself, and the realisation of just how alone she was in this world. .

Damien's arms wrapped around her as he pressed onto her back, whispering words of comfort into her. Clutching onto his arms, she turned around and embraced him fully, crying into his shoulder.

"Thank you…" She finally whispered after about a minute. "Brother."

She felt a jolt move through his body as he pushed her back slightly to see her face. "What?"

"I'm her; this is the past." She looked at the sleeping child beside them. "And you were made using Balder and Rosa's cells; they're my…" She swallowed. "My Mummy and Daddy…"

He stared at her with wide eyes at the revelation. "You are my sister?"

"A half-sister, if anything." She smiled. "It's better than nothing."

He grabbed her and crushed her with a hug, his eyes threatening to spill even more tears. "I have a sister…" He choked out.

"Yes." She confirmed, breaking his grip and standing up. Grabbing him, she pulled him to his feet. "We need to leave; we've lingered long enough."

He nodded, then turned to the sleeping child. Leaning over, he placed a kiss on her forehead, smiling in sorrow as he did. "Bye, Cereza. May we meet again one day."

Bayonetta gave him a look, and he sheepishly smiled back at her, realising the error of his statement.

With one last look at the sleeping child, they both walked into the portal, closing it behind them.


	19. Chapter 18: The Greatest Jubilee

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't own anything from Bayonetta._

Damien spotted something on the ground as they stepped out of the portal. Snarling, he gave a swift kick to the side of Balder's corpse and knocked it over. Bayonetta grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

"It's OK…" She whispered. "He is gone. He can't harm you anymore."

"He made me into this!" The pair of wings retracted as he willed his power to fade, but his features remained pale and his hair remained silver and hip length. "This… monster! He deserves everything he gets!"

"You have to let it go, Damien." She looked at him with a look of understanding. "Otherwise he will have won."

He grimaced but continued to stare at the body with hatred.

…

Luka found the pair staring at the body of Balder. The Sage was lying flat on the rooftop, his pale features etched into a scowl.

"Is that it?" He asked, startling both. "Is that the end of it all?"

"I believe so." Damien smiled at him with exhaustion, the frown on his features fading. "It's over."

Luka nodded, and then gave the body a kick of his own. "And that one was for my father, you fuck!"

The other two laughed at his insult. The mortal then began to look around, as if he was trying to find something.

"Where is Cerezita?" He asked, finally settling on looking back at the pair.

"She is now back in her own time." Damien answered. "We did find out who she was, and why she was so important."

"Who was she?"

"Me." Bayonetta smirked. Luka's eyes widened, and his face went pale.

"Wait, you are Cerezita?" He sounded shocked, and he had every right to be.

"Yes, Uncle Luka." She smiled as he made a face at the nickname. "Aw, come on! Even though Damien here is not my son, I have to be able to tease someone about their relation to me!"

"Well, anyway, now that is finally sorted." Luka regained control of his emotions and looked at the pair. "I guess it's time for me to leave you two alone, so you can celebrate with each other?"

"What?" Bayonetta turned to him. Damien also turned to face him fully, confusion etched on his pale features.

"You two like each other beyond friends, right?" He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I get it, and its fine with me. I'll go and fuck off now."

Bayonetta laughed as she realised what he meant. "Cheshire, ever so curious, but not curious enough."

Damien also smiled. "I'm her brother."

"WHAT?" His hands flew out of his pockets as he stared at the pair with unbridled shock.

"Balder here;" She refused to call him father. "Used my mother's DNA and his own to replace his genetics with theirs, literally turning him into family."

"You're her created brother?" Luka realised, his voice conveying surprise. "How the fuck?"

"It's not hard, in theory." Damien answered. "It's better than nothing."

"But…" Luka put a hand on his head and closed his eyes. "This is fucked up..."

Both frowned and glared at him. His face fell as he realised his phrasing. "Sorry, I didn't mean that in a literal sense." He opened his eyes and grinned uneasily.

"You're forgiven, and I agree. This is fucked up." Sephiroth turned back to Balder. "And now since I know my name, I can find the real me."

"Damien…" Bayonetta said it for the third time, letting the word roll out of her mouth. "The antichrist, in some interpretations."

"Your real name is Damien?" Luka asked yet another question, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm really out of the loop."

"Yes, you are, Luka." Bayonetta smiled and turned to him. "We have a lot of explaining to do."

Grabbing his hand, the three began to walk away.

"You do have a lot. You can start as to why Damien here now looks like an anime character." Luke asked to some chuckles.

Reality seemed to flicker, and then the witch collapsed, holding her head and glowing red.

"Bayonetta?" Luka turned to her, half yelling her name. Damien instantly took a defensive stance and surveyed the area for a potential threat.

"Why yes." Balder's voice was splitting and warping, and both men winced at the sound. "It is all going according to plan."

Damien whipped around to see the Lumen Sage, alive and standing before them. He was glowing blue, and his hand reached up and replaced his golden half mask onto his bruised, but serene face.

"You?!" He screamed in fury and surprise.

"It was never her I wanted." He smiled as Bayonetta groaned in pain. "The innocent Cereza, uncorrupted by power or time, could awaken the power of the Left Eye."

Damien charged at him, and then got promptly thrown off the building by a telekinetic swipe from the Sage.

"And my plan worked, spectacularly. Now is the time for Jubileus to return, and for the creation of a new universe!"

Luka stepped between the Lumen and Bayonetta. "N-not on my watch." He raised his fists. "I will not let you."

"Brave." Balder's eyes glinted. "But foolish." He clicked his fingers and Bayonetta arose into the air, glowing red. Levitating after her, he caught and gently cradled the witch.

"No!" Luka fired his grappling hook after them, but he merely deflected the projectile. Raising up, he flew to the top of the Ithavoll building.

"Bayonetta!" Damien roared as he landed onto the building again. Collapsing, he choked out a sob. "We failed…"

Luka could only stare in despair at the building. He vaguely felt the ground rumble, and he didn't care that the warning klaxons and sirens were wailing.

They had failed, even though they had won. It wasn't fair! How could they win when Balder could cheat his way out of death?

"Oh, get up." An unfamiliar voice to Luka, but all too familiar to Damien began to speak from behind them. "There is still time!"

"Time for what?" Damien turned to her, fresh tears in his eyes. "Jeanne, he has won!"

The witch in grey shook her head, pulling him onto his feet. "He has only won when there is no one standing before him. And as I last recalled, there is still two Umbra Witches alive and one very powerful and pissed off metahuman that can still get in his way. So don't you dare say it's over!"

Damien breathed in. "He's going to resurrect the God of creation. How are we supposed to fight that?"

"It is merely another angel, an angel on the list of things to kill." She bared her teeth savagely. "I've always wanted to kill a God."

He grew serious and closed his eyes. "We can do this. We have to do this…"

"That's the spirit. You there!" She pointed at Luka, who had been listening in awe at the two. "Get the people here to safety!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Luka immediately stood at attention, and then ran off.

"Since when were you the leader?" Damien raised an eyebrow at her.

"As the daughter of the Umbran Elder, I was trained to become the head of the clan." She explained briefly. "Now, we need to get on that rocket."

"I don't have a weapon." Damien looked at his hands. "I'm not sure-"

He stopped as a katana was dropped in his hands. "What this?"

"While you were sending back Cereza, I took liberties of getting your sword back to Rodin." She looked at him with amusement in her eyes. "This is Angel Slayer, and it has served me well in the past. Now hop on!"

She clicked her fingers and a motorcycle appeared out of Inferno. In front of them, the Ithavoll building began to tremble and shudder as it began to rise, its true purpose as a rocket finally revealed.

"I can fly." He pointed out, standing up.

She shook her head and sat onto the bike. "I'm faster. And you can only fly when you're in your little berserk mode, if I recall."

He didn't argue. Taking the seat behind her, he let Angel Slayer fade into Inferno and tentatively wrapped his arms around her. She rolled her eyes at his shyness; however, she understood why he was on edge around her. Revving the engine beyond its limits, they shot off like an arrow towards the rising building.

"By the way, my real name is Damien." He said to her as they landed on the lower floors and began to speed up the building. "If you didn't know already."

"I knew." She answered, smiling in relief. "It suits you better."

…

 _Bayonetta and Jeanne heard the Elders convening as they ran to them._

"… _Fortitudo and Iustitia have been confirmed sealed away."_

" _That makes two unable to be reborn. What of the others?"_

" _Temperentia has destroyed the Umbran Clocktower." Jeanne announced their presence and the five witches turned to the pair. "Sapientia is currently assaulting the training grounds as we speak."_

" _The clocktower?!" One cried out. "All hope is lost!"_

" _Silence!" The Umbran Elder stood up. "As long as the Eye, our precious Eye, has not fallen into the hands of another, then we have not yet lost."_

 _She turned to Bayonetta and stiffened. "You are still the wielder. You must get to safety."_

" _Mummy!" Jeanne froze. "You don't mean that…"_

" _My daughter, the time has come. Our time has come." The room shook as Sapentia launched another volley of missiles into the citadel. "We will hold them off for as long as possible. You need to take Cereza and get her out of here."_

" _Mummy…" She stepped forward. The Elder glared at her, her eyes beginning to fill with tears._

" _No Jeanne!" Another rumble caused cracks to form at the entrance. "You must go!"_

 _Swallowing, she nodded. "I love you Mummy."_

" _We will meet again in the next life. You must do everything in your power to protect the Eye." The Elder's palm glowed as a section of the wall retracted. "Now go! And don't look back."_

 _Running into the tunnel, they only heard the grinding of stone as the passageway closed behind them._

" _Stop!" Jeanne ran into a side room and pulled her in. "I need to know…"_

 _She understood what she was talking about. They stayed quiet, listening. There was a massive crash as Sapientia destroyed his way into the citadel, and they heard the battle cries of various witches, all the untrained and newly appointed ones who had been held back from the assault from the Lagunan, until now._

 _They lasted seconds._

"Where is it!?" _The Audito boomed. "_ Where is the Eye!? _"_

" _The Eye is gone to somewhere safe, where you won't find it!" The Elder's voice carried well through the stone passageway. "Cease this slaughter!"_

 _The Audito roared, and the Umbran Elder's cried out in fury, summoning their Infernals._

 _Bayonetta grabbed Jeanne's hand and began to stroke it with her thumbs, trying to calm the distressed blonde down._

 _The Audito spoke clearly in Enochulan, and then several massive explosions were heard. The screams of the witches carried themselves over the sounds; then they went silent._

" _No!" Jeanne screamed. "Mummy!"_

 _Pulling her into a hug, she comforted her friend._

"Find it! It can't have gone far! _" Sapientia ordered and the sounds of stone grinding, and cracking were heard once again._

" _We can't stay here, Jeanne." Bayonetta separated with her and pointed back to the passageway. "We have to go."_

 _Wiping the tears from her face, she nodded. Running, they flew down the tunnel in a matter of minutes. Exiting, they found themselves in the Umbran training grounds._

 _Dead witches lay on the floor, strewn about like forgotten dolls._

" _We are all that's left…" Jeanne choked on the words. Bayonetta scanned the bodies and fell into despair as she spotted one._

" _Mummy?!" She ran to the fallen witch and knelt by her, grabbing her hand. "Mummy! Wake up!"_

 _The eyes flickered open weakly. "Cereza..."_

" _I'm still here Mummy." She put on a brave front. "We can still get you out, we just need a-"_

" _Cereza, don't." Her mother placed her hand weakly on her lips. "You need to keep the Eye safe, no matter what."_

" _Mummy, don't say that!" She felt tears prickling in her eyes. "You can still live!"_

" _My time has come." She smiled. "Khepri will treat me right…"_

 _Her hand dropped to her chest. Fiddling with a pocket, she pulled out her tube of lipstick. "Take this, Cereza. When you meet him again, this is the proof he will need to know who…who you are…"_

" _Who, Mummy?" She grabbed the tube. "Stay with me Mummy, I don't have anyone else!"_

" _Jeanne will take care of you… She is a good girl…" Her mother's eyes closed, and her pulse died._

 _Her emotions went numb. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Jeanne was cursing behind her, but she didn't care._

 _Mummy was dead._

" _You traitorous Sage!" She heard her say, but she stared blankly at her mother's corpse._

 _What was the point?_

" _ALALARE A COREDAZODIZODA!" A male voice cried from behind them. Golden chains surrounded her mother's corpse, and it was snatched into the air behind her. Turning, she saw the last Lumen Sage in battle uniform. She stared at him, not caring if he got the Eye or not._

 _Mummy was dead._

" _My, my… The Eye, within my grasp." The Lumen said, a smile permeating his words. "Jeanne; isn't this enough bloodshed for you?"_

" _OXEX RACLIR!" Jeanne shouted, and then broke the summon spell as it began. Gomorrah roared as it was unleashed into the world, untethered by the witch._

" _You fool!" The Sage screamed as the Infernal began to lumber towards them. "What have you done?"_

" _Bought time." She snarled. Grabbing out a small knife, she twisted and stabbed Bayonetta in the chest._

 _A light clink filled the air as the dagger was deflected by her Umbran watch, and Jeanne eyes widened in surprise. Bayonetta looked down and saw the pulsating stone embedded there. A memory from her childhood played out;_

"You must always keep it safe and treasure it forever. _"_

 _Her Mummy had said that a long time ago, back when they were with brother and Uncle Luka. What was her most treasured possession? It was her Umbran watch, the symbol of the Umbra and all they stood for. And within it was their most treasured possession._

 _The Left Eye. Her Left Eye. Not just any fancy trinket, the ultimate power of the Umbra Clan. And it was her purpose above all else to protect it. She had sworn to._

 _Or she could wield it._

 _Her resolve hardened as she looked at Jeanne. The witch in red gasped as the red jewel began to dull, and then lost all colour. Bayonetta stood up, her left eye glowing red, and she affixed the sage with a glare._

" _You let Mummy die." She pointed at him, watching in anger as the Affinities tried to fend off the Infernal behind them. "You killed her!"_

 _She burst forward in a sprint, summoning Madama Butterfly as she did. Two wicked punches later, the sage was flying towards the melee. Jeanne grabbed her hand and pulled her back, stopping her from running into the fray._

" _Come, Cereza!" She hissed. "We need to leave before more arrive!"_

…

 _The two witches collapsed next to a lake, exhausted. They had been evading the mortals and forces of Paradiso for nearly a week, running almost constantly. Breathing heavily, they both got onto their knees and faced each other._

" _We can't go much longer." Jeanne looked at her with despair. "It's inevitable when they find us."_

" _They want the Eye, not you." Bayonetta grinned at her. "I can take them."_

" _In your state?" Her eyes widened. "Absolutely not!"_

 _Her grin faded. "Jeanne, you don't have to be with me. They want me, not you. You can leave and start evading the angels properly. I know the only reason you haven't is because I am with you, and I am not the subtle witch you can be."_

" _I swore myself to protect the Eye. We all did." She answered, then looked away. "And I… care far too much to let you do anything alone."_

" _Jeanne?" Bayonetta frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"_

 _The witch in red looked at her, a blush spreading over her cheeks. Her eyes widened, and she looked back in shock._

" _I never knew…" She looked down, and then back up. "I thought you liked men?"_

" _I do!" Jeanne fired back. "I just… don't care about the gender."_

 _She stared at her in shocked silence. "Jeanne, why?"_

" _I don't know, ok?" She looked down. "I like you romantically, because you are both beautiful on the inside, and the outside. It doesn't matter about anything else, ok?"_

" _Since when?" The witch in black reached over and lifted her friend's chin up._

" _Since we were fifteen." She replied, not meeting her eyes. "I had broken up with Jeremiah from Vigrid, and then I truly noticed you for the first time."_

" _I…" Bayonetta felt horrible. "I don't think I could ever think of you as more than a friend."_

 _Jeanne smiled a sad smile. "I knew that the whole time. You don't seem like the type who could settle down with anyone; especially a girl."_

" _Hey, I've never really thought about whether I was bisexual or not." She laughed. "Although that does explain why you wanted more group showers under the guise of 'becoming comfortable with each other.'"_

" _That was a legitimate exercise, thank you very much." Jeanne blushed deeper._

" _You're admitting it either way." Bayonetta looked to the lake and gazed onto it. "Honestly, I'll probably be the witch to fall for a mortal, of all people."_

" _Why a mortal?" Her companion frowned slightly. "You know that you are functionally immortal; you will outlive him or her."_

" _I believe that wouldn't necessarily be the case." She answered. "It won't matter to me. I'd rather my significant other be someone who cares, not someone who will always be there."_

 _Jeanne nodded in understanding and didn't push the point. The two sat there, enjoying the silence and peace for a while._

" _What were you trying to do, back with the sage?" Bayonetta asked, pretending to sound annoyed. "You tried to stab me."_

" _I was going to take your memories, seal away your power and then hide you in the mortal population, for you to never be discovered again." She answered after a moment's hesitation. "You would live out a normal life, until I assassinated him, and ended this conflict for good. If anything had failed, I would have sealed you into the empty vessel of the Left Eye, and then hidden you away."_

 _Bayonetta reflected on her words. "You could seal me away."_

" _What?" Jeanne shook her head. "Cereza, I can't just do that!"_

" _Look, they are going to find us, no matter what. We both can't outrun the angels, and you know it. I am slowing you down." She grabbed her hand. "Seal away my memories, and then seal me away somewhere. You are the better witch, you stand a far better chance of evading them."_

" _I don't want to." Jeanne looked at her with a firm expression, tears welling in her grey eyes. "I refuse to do this while you can defend yourself."_

" _Jeanne, it's not about what we want to do. It's about what needs to happen." Bayonetta reached into Inferno and pulled out her dagger and pushed it into her hands. "Jeanne, I'll be fine. As long as he can't reach me, he can't complete the prophecy."_

 _Jeanne nodded, tears pooling in her eyes. "Then let me do this my way."_

 _She leaned forward and pressed her lips against hers. Bayonetta nearly pulled back but made a conscious effort to stay with her. Jeanne pulled back after a couple of seconds, blushing harder._

" _Was it worth it?" Bayonetta smirked as tears began to form in her eyes as well. The witch in red smiled and nodded as she pressed the dagger against the witch in black._

" _I'll miss you, Cereza." She whispered as she pushed it into her chest, and the world faded to black._

…

Jeanne grimaced as another painful memory shot through her head.

"Are you sure you are ok?" She heard Damien ask from behind her.

"The accursed Sage meddled with far too much for his own good." She focussed on keeping witchwalk active. "The past has changed, and for the worst."

"What changed?" He was curious, and who could blame him?

"Cereza originally never used the Eye, ever." She answered. "Even when we were the last two witches alive, she refused its power. Now, to whatever Balder has done to her, she used it instead. I sealed her away after she requested me to, and the rest is history."

"And now she has the powers of the Right Eye…" His visage stoned up. "He will pay."

Jeanne nodded, then revved the engine harder. The rocket had reached the atmosphere, and they were only two thirds up it.

 _Ahh, Jeanne._ Balder's voice rang in their heads. _You did survive._

Both stiffened at his interruption. _Gaze upon what you once coveted; the glory of the Left Eye! Does it fill you with jealously, with hate?_

"The only thing I want is my Umbran sister back!" Jeanne retorted, her sharp voice easily carrying over the wind. "The Eye can rot for all I care!"

 _And you, my failure._ Balder addressed him. _How can you be so close to someone who caused you so much pain?_

 _I want my sister back!_ He telepathically sent back, not caring that Jeanne heard, nor seeing her look of surprise and confusion that she shot back at him. _She was never the problem, you were!_

 _Never the matter. It can't be delayed any longer._ Balder's tone was full of mirth. _Jubileus will return!_

A huge snap was heard, and reality split apart. The full forces of Paradiso marched out; Affinities, Applauds, Joys and Beloved poured out by the thousands, descending upon the city beneath them.

 _Now, what shall you do?_ Balder laughed. _Defeat me to return to a dead world, or save the mortals for the universe to be remade?_

The flight descended onto Isla Del Sol, attacking everything and everyone. The faint screams of the mortals reached the pairs ears, and both tensed at the sound.

"There isn't going to be much point if he slaughters everyone." Jeanne hissed at herself and to him. "We have to kill him fast!"

The screams grew louder, and she glanced behind her to see the city beginning to burn. Blocking it out, she continued forward.

"I can't." Damien touched her head, and a spark of energy shot through it. Her head snapped around to see him fall from the motorcycle, back to Isla Del Sol.

"Damien!" She screamed. "Are you insane!?"

 _There will be nothing left to save if we both stay here._ His voice answered in her mind. _I have faith in you Jeanne. You will defeat him and get my sister back._

"You better survive then, so I can have the pleasure of killing you myself!" Jeanne turned back and scowled. "Some ally you are. And remember, she is my sister too!"

 _Free her before the Dea can awaken._ Damien pointed out. _Balder can't harm you now, and I honestly don't think there would be too many adversaries between you and our sister, aside from space of course._

That was a good point, and she silently commended him for changing his speech. "You better not be wrong."

…

Damien closed his eyes as he began to speed up. He was going to hit the ground hard, unless he wanted to access his full power willingly again.

 _You better, mortal._ Khepri scolded him, reminding him of his fragility. _You aren't going to survive that landing._

He mentally grappled with himself. He could feel the seductive pull and resisted it, but he needed to use it otherwise he would die.

 _For Sheba's sake…_ His patron sounded disappointed. _Don't be such an angel and use your power to its full potential! You have the strength to not become corrupted, and you will fucking need it!_

He opened his eyes and glared at the quickly approaching ground. Power coursed through his body as he made his decision. His two lower wings sprouted out and caught the air, allowing him to glide down to the city. Summoning Angel Slayer, he gathered fire around his fist and gestured to the host.

"The time has come." His voice boomed. "Let us make the future."

The angels heard him and screamed at the new threat. They abandoned their assault on the city and turned to him.

"And you are all not part of it." He swung the katana down in a flourish. "Leave them or perish."

He didn't expect them to. Nor was he worried. He smiled to himself, remembering every piece of advice Bayonetta had given, every spell Khepri and his resident Langunan and Infernal had taught him and the knowledge of Jeanne's revival. He didn't care about the mortals that were staring with unconcealed shock or awe. His purpose was not to destroy the universe as the Right Eye, or as the Left; it was to be the Overseer of the mortal world, and they were threatened.

The host turned and focused onto him. He brought the katana to his side and waited staunchly to meet them.

…

Jeanne had ditched her bike back into Inferno long ago and was traversing the massive statue of Jubileus on foot. To his credit, and her displeasure, Damien was completely right about the journey. Aside from the odd, lost looking Affinity, the rocket was relatively unguarded.

 _Probably because he planned for us either to both go down there, or for no one to make it to the rocket in the first place._ She thought to herself, reaching the hip of the statue finally. _Still, it never doesn't pay to be careful._

Taking comfort in the familiar weight of the All 4 One in her hands, she continued up to the shoulder. Spotting two glows from the eyes of the statue, she quickened her pace and ran up the cheek to the left eye.

"Cereza!" Spotting her inside the eye, she fell and landing on a transparent field of energy. Punching it, she tried to break through.

"It's no use, Jeanne." Balder called to her from the right. "The Eyes have been restored; you can't stop it now!"

She ignored him and broke through the barrier, a strange, acidic liquid spilling out. Hissing in pain, she forced her arm into the eye and grabbed her friend.

"What are you doing?" Balder screamed. "The universe can't exist without light and dark! Any imbalance will cause untold consequences to it!"

She was half out. Crying out from the burning sensation throughout her arm, she pulled harder.

"Stop this at once!" A blue ball of energy flew from the right and struck her in the side. Screaming, she dropped her and held her side in pain.

"This thing should've slept for eternity." She whispered to herself, dulling the pain mentally and reaching to Bayonetta. With a mighty heave, she pulled her free from the eye.

"Cereza!" She pleaded, shaking her lightly. "Open your eyes! Damn you, open them, please!"

Groggily, the grey eyes opened and fixed themselves on her with surprise. "Jeanne…?"

"Cereza, you aren't the person I sealed away five hundred years ago." She tried to shake some sense into the half-awake witch. "You need to find the strength to fight!"

The statue trembled, and Jeanne's head whipped around to the right.

"My, oh… my…" Balder's voice was full of amazement. "It's too late, its power can't be contained now…"

Gathering Bayonetta in her arms, she jumped down and landed onto a piece of debris from the rocket.

"The time has come for the resurrection!" He was speaking with fervour now. "For the true ruler of the realities to return and make a new universe!"

Cracks were forming in the statue, and white light was spilling out of them.

"You can put me down now." Bayonetta said from her arms. "Although, if you want to hold me during the big fight, you can."

"Oh." She dropped her. Bayonetta landed on her feet, in a crouch.

"Light, Dark, Human…" Balder was almost mesmerized. "All the strife, all the struggle… The trinities all wrapped up in a vortex of creation!"

"What is he going on about?" Bayonetta stood up beside her, her eyes focusing on the ranting man.

"I don't know." Jeanne answered. "This isn't the Balder I knew."

"To you two, may they have mercy on you!" Balder's voice was getting fainter. "May Jubileus, the creator have…"

His voice faded entirely as the stone melted away, revealing the giant, godlike being within. A clean white body with feminine attributes. Eight long braids formed its hair, and a headpiece, quite similar to the joys, finished it. It curled into a ball, and a large sphere of energy surrounded it. Jumping down from the debris and onto the impromptu platform, the Umbran pair stood side to side, staring at the angel.

"Shall we dance?" Jeanne asked, remembering their first meeting in twenty years.

"My, I'd thought you'd never ask." Bayonetta smiled. Drawing their weapons, they felt the Dea's gaze shift to them.

" _What is the meaning of this?"_ It asked, sounding confused. " _Why have I been awakened now?"_

The two shared a glance. "You are to remake the universe when reawakened." Jeanne answered, simply stating the obvious.

" _Will you two stop me?_ " Its expressionless face was glaring at them.

They didn't answer, and merely took their two respective battle stances.

" _Very well._ " It drew its braids to itself and began to gather its limbs to form itself into a ball. " _The recreation will occur, as it was foretold!_ "

Both Umbra witches let their power gather into themselves and let their hair flow out.

"Whatever happens, Cereza." Jeanne said, turning briefly to her. "I'm sorry for everything."

Bayonetta smiled at her. "Save it for later. We got a cat to scratch."

They launched themselves at the Dea, the hopelessness of the situation far from their minds.

…

Damien had really underestimated the host of angels a lot.

Once they had realised it was just a one-man army, they had simply left him alone and had refocused their efforts of cleansing the city. It had now become a race between him and each flock, with the end goal of survivors in their sights.

He flew around, saving who he could see and sense. The security of the island had kicked into motion, as he saw several groups of beige-armoured men fighting for their life and for themselves.

"MALPRIGI!" He cast a healing spell on a group of downed men. They nodded at him in acknowledgement.

"The angel has come…" He heard one whisper as he turned his attention to the Beloved that was lumbering down the street. Wasting no time, he dashed forward, Angel Slayer nipping its ankles. It fell to the ground, roaring in pain. Sending a meteor after it to finish it, he continued onwards.

He sensed two beings in terror to his right. Bursting through a wall, he saw four Joys advancing on a mother and her child, both clinging to each other in terror.

They noticed him, and two dashed forwards and grabbed the two mortals. He cursed and tried to conjure any spell, but the other two moved to engage him. Deflecting their bullets, he tried to push past them. Kicking at him, they pushed him away, the two behind taunting. He reevaluated the situation. He couldn't use his magic safely; Angel Slayer's use was diminished by the lack of space. He glared at the four, despair and regret filling him, knowing he had to leave the two mortals to their death.

A fifth Joy burst in, guns blazing. Each bullet slammed into the forehead of a Joy, killing them instantly. He whirled to the newest angel and it recoiled, holding its arms out.

" _Wait!_ " It pleaded. " _We are on your side!_ "

"You're an angel." He tilted his head in confusion. "Shouldn't you be attacking me and these mortals?"

" _Jubileus should not be awakened."_ It answered. " _And you need all the help you can get._ "

It had a point. Not particularly caring if this one was trying to trick him, he gestured to it. "Follow me then. We need to keep the citizens safe."

It readied its guns. " _Lead on._ "

…

 _Jeanne._ Damien's voice asked her as she cartwheeled out of the way of a fist from the Dea.

 _Can you not?_ She answered, firing her guns at the receded hand. _I'm busy._

 _I'm being overwhelmed, and even though I have help from within Paradiso, I give it less than ten minutes before I have to blow up this island._ His voice was urgent. _And even then it might not mean shit in the grand scheme of things._

 _What do you want me to do?_ She snapped back, sending a wicked punch into the fist as it crashed down again, Bayonetta having the same idea. Jubileus screamed in pain as its wrist shattered, and it pulled back into itself.

 _Keep it up, whatever you are doing._

She rolled her eyes. "Cereza!"

Bayonetta glanced at her in acknowledgment and continued to send bullets up at the eyes of the Dea.

"What do you know of traitors to Paradiso?" She asked as they both waited for Jubileus to strike. Reacting to the Dea's attacks had served well as their current strategy, and both had no reason to change it up yet.

"There is one." She replied, not taking her eyes off the angel. "It helped me when I was trapped in Paradiso."

"Looks like Damien found out about it." Jeanne was starting to grow impatient. "We need to go on the offensive. He hasn't got much time left."

Bayonetta stiffened. "How long?"

"Ten minutes, give or take." She answered, realising the full weight of it.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bayonetta jumped, guns blazing.

"Cereza! Wait!" Jeanne cursed to herself. "Sod it then…"

Joining her fellow witch, she jumped at the Dea.

…

Damien slammed Angel Slayer down, killing the last of the Affinities harassing the Vigridians. The Joy stood behind him, its guns picking off any stragglers. Breathing heavily, he stood up and turned to the security forces, and assumedly their leader. He ignored their wide, wonder-filled eyes as they both stared at him and the angel at his side.

"What is the situation?" He took charge as the angel ran to his side, gazing upon the humans.

"Any remaining survivors of the city have been moved into the underground bunkers that Ithavoll had installed." The commander answered. "The monsters have been routed, for now."

" _Angels, mortal."_ The Joy folded its arms. " _Call them by their proper titles._ "

The humans stared at it in confusion.

"It said to call them Lagunans, not monsters." Damien quickly said, covering for it. "Otherwise you will offend it."

"I guess." The mortal shifted uncomfortably. "Who are you, and why do you have a mon- a Lagunan, helping you?"

"I was created in that former tower." He gestured to the empty space where Ithavoll used to be. "And here is a friend that doesn't want their race to succeed."

" _The reawakening of Jubileus was and still is a grave error."_ It nodded. " _It is not the time yet, and it must be stopped at all costs._ "

He quickly translated for them. They turned to each other in surprise and turned back. "The resurrection is happening at this moment, and you want to stop it!?"

"The recreation of the universe will result in everyone but one man dead." Damien looked at them all gravely. "I have two friends right now who have taken the fight to him, and I'm here on the ground, making sure we all live to see tomorrow."

"Our religion is a lie?" One said, looking at their hands. "How could someone pervert the resurrection like that?"

"Because they are a megalomaniac who stopped at nothing to force the prophecy to come to fruition." He put a hand on the security guard, meeting him face to mask. "We will prevent the resurrection, and it will happen eventually, when the universe needs it."

"Now, let's go and meet up with the other groups of security on this island." He turned around, gesturing for the group to follow. "We need to have a plan in case they decide to send more."

" _Good idea."_ The Joy stayed at his side, obviously uncomfortable with the looks that the humans were giving it. " _What do you think will happen next?"_

"In all honesty, the Auditio-wannabees." He grimaced as he glanced at it. "Also, what is your name? I can't exactly call you the Joy or it the whole time."

" _We don't have a name. A name would defer us from our true purpose._ " It replied, shrugging.

"Well, fuck your little rules," Damien looked ahead, smiling. "Hope."

The Joy paused briefly, but then smiled and ran to catch up with him. " _Hope…"_

 _Great, now you are naming angels._ Khepri laughed, reappearing. _What next, you are going to summon me into the mortal realm as well?_

 _That's actually not a bad idea._ He considered his options. _I mean, you being here and all would make it a hell of a lot easier._

 _You are forgetting that you would have to summon me fully, where you would have no control over my actions._ She added. _You would have to have a lot of trust in me for me to not immediately fuck off and cause chaos._

 _I trust you enough._ He replied. _If things get too hectic, I'll summon you out. I promise._

 _I'll hold you to that, Damien._

…

"We can't keep doing this for much longer!" Jeanne screamed at her, dodging nearly continuously as Jubileus pummelled the ground with its fists and braids.

"We have to figure out something, Jeanne!" Bayonetta replied, utilising a wicked weave to hold a braid at bay. Firing into the body, she watched with despair as the bullets ricochet off.

Jubelius had seemingly lost patience. Drawing its hands close to its chest, it stretched out, screaming in fury. The world went red, and the floor turned to lava. Jumping onto a braid each, the pair looked at each other with hopelessness.

"Now what?" The grey witch looked down. The braids began to fly around erratically, trying to toss the pair off and to their death.

"We have to go after Jubileus!" She replied, jumping from her braid and onto the one Jeanne was on. "We need to destroy it!"

"But how? Our attacks are all but folly!" Jeanne gestured to the angel. "We can barely scratch it, let alone kill it!"

"We managed to hurt it, as one." Bayonetta gestured to the wrist of the angel. "We need to work together, as one."

"It's not like we can do that." She shook her head. "It is not going to let us get into a position to do that again."

"We can summon her." She gave her a look. "The queen."

"No!" Jeanne shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. "We can't summon her! The consequences would be too great!"

"What? And Balder allowing the resurrection to take place is not?" Bayonetta smirked as she looked into Jeanne's eyes. "We have to use everything at our disposal, regardless of the consequences. The universe is at stake!"

The witch in grey shook her head. "As a last resort. Only."

"I agree." Sending a wicked kick into the face of the Dea, she jumped from braid to limb and onto its back, slipping underneath the braids. Jeanne immediately understood what she was doing and launched forward, a wicked punch screaming ahead of her.

The fist smashed into its nose, and a wicked stomp into the back of its head slammed it down onto the fist even harder, and they both heard the audible cracks as the porcelain nose broke apart and revealed the starry flesh beneath.

Jubileus screamed in pain, and the world returned to its normal state. Jumping back down, both witches stood back to back as the Dea gazed at them in pure fury. Readying their guns yet again, they prepared themselves for the next onslaught from the angel.

…

"Alright, so there's about a hundred of us left. Fucking cool." Damien glanced at the sky, unnerved by the lack of Laguna. "Are we certain that every civilian is off the streets?"

"We believe so." The head of security nodded at him. "When Ithavoll launched we sent out the evacuation notice, and once the… Lagunan started to attack, we sent out the red alert notice. If anyone is still up and about, it's their problem now. They have had ample warning."

" _We have not sensed anything._ " Hope nodded as well. " _All the mortals should be underground, or at least out of sight._ "

"That's a relief." He smiled briefly, then began to think. _What would Bayonetta do?_

"We have to prepare if the Lagunan decide to come back." He turned and faced the gathered people behind him, all of them staring at him with a mixture of curiosity, wonder and awe. "Now, is there a defensive grid on this island? I know it was activated recently, so can any of you do it?"

The leadership group shuffled uncomfortably. "As far as we know, the only people who could activate that grid is the missing Father Balder and also the missing Mademoiselle Jeanne. Without them, we can't use it."

He inwardly cursed. "Both of them are in space right now…"

The troupe fell quiet. The air began to thicken, and Damien frowned.

"Sir!" Another security officer ran into the room, yelling to his commander. "We've spotted something massive coming from the north!"

The colour drained from his face as he turned to the man. "What did you see? Tell me!"

He turned to him, breathing heavily. "Something massive; I honestly don't know how to describe them."

" _Them?_ " The Joy stepped forward, its mouth twisting into a grim line, its voice falling with every syllable. " _They have found replacements._ "

" _CORUNDOR!_ "A volley of missiles slammed into the walls of the building they were standing in, causing it to break apart. Sprinting outside, both Damien and Hope's faces fell as they witnessed all four Auditio, reborn.

"No…" He felt despair beginning to creep up onto him as Iustitia began to rip apart the skyscrapers and starting to throw them at the gathered humans, causing them to scatter. Fortitudo flew in, breathing fire from its mouths, and Hope grabbed him and pulled him out of the way before he could be burned to a crisp. Temperentia was at the back alongside Sapientia, laying waste to whatever they saw with their artillery.

A screech from above caused them both to look up as another host of angels poured out of Purgatorio, descending upon the ruin that the Auditio were creating.

Damien collapsed to his knees, holding his head in anguish. "We have lost…"

Hope looked at him, shaking its head. " _We can't give into despair yet. We can still win!_ "

"How? We are all going to die!" He turned to her, tears running down his cheeks. "Nothing will save us…"

…

Bayonetta flipped out of the way of Jubileus's fist and jumped back, looking for the witch in grey. "Jeanne!"

Jeanne fell from the braid she was on, wicked kicking the others out of her way. "I'm OK!"

They landed beside each other as the braids slammed into the sphere, blocking their path. Bayonetta felt the despair beginning to creep up again, and she turned to her Umbran sister beside her.

"We have to do something!" She hissed. "We aren't getting anywhere!"

"I don't want to summon Sheba unless we absolutely have to!" Jeanne hissed back, preparing herself for whatever the Dea did next.

"We don't have a choice!" She shook her head, her left eye slowly starting to glow red. "We aren't winning, Jeanne, and more wasted time is what is going to kill my brother!"

Jeanne focussed on the mental link. _Damien! What is going on down there!_

 _Jeanne, forget about me._ His voice was subdued. _It is the end._

 _Damien! Answer my fucking question!_ She screamed back, and she felt him wince.

 _The Auditio are back, and they bought friends._ He answered. _I can't stop them._

Jeanne closed her eyes and came to a decision. "Alright, Cereza. Lead the way."

"Just stay close to me!" She let her guns fall back into Inferno as she drew upon her power. Jeanne followed her actions, and they both began to chant and dance.

"TELOC VOVIM-" Bayonetta started.

"-OL ADRPAN-" Jeanne continued.

"-TABA ORD-"

"-OXEX RACLIR-"

"-AVAVAGO!" The pair both stuck a pose as their hair left their bodies, flying upwards and out of the sphere, intertwining in a mixture of grey and black.

Outside, a monstrous woman rose, dwarfing the massive Dea. Jubileus returned to a standing position, forgetting about the two witches for now. The figure materialised, forming into a figure that both witches had only heard about in legends.

Queen Sheba, the ruler of Inferno, had returned to the mortal realm once more.

The Infernal stared down at her angelic counterpart, seeming curious at it. Noticing the pair of humans at its feet, she smirked and gave them a wink.

Jubileus drew her fist back and sent a punch into the thigh of the Infernal. Sheba frowned at it and rubbed her thigh slightly. Drawing her own fist back, she began to swing with all its might at the Dea. The angel realised what the Infernal was doing and gave off a panicked squeak as it braced itself.

Sheba's fist smashed through the barrier and into the Dea, throwing the spirit of the angel out and returning the statue to its normal state. As the summon for Sheba untwined, Bayonetta broke off and pointed at the flying spirit.

" _PDEE BARMA!_ " She screamed, and a giant Madama Butterfly fist grabbed the screaming spirit and dragged it into Inferno.

"What!?" Jeanne screamed as her Umbran uniform reformed around her body. "Are you crazy?"

"Sanity is a requirement for this job." Bayonetta smiled as the sphere underneath them faded. "I believe holding onto Jubileus for now will prove far more beneficial than having it dead."

The pair jumped onto the statue as the sphere disappeared completely, silently celebrating their victory. Jeanne stood proudly, whereas Bayonetta sat down, resting herself.

…

The angelic host and the Auditio paused in their assault, and then screamed in anguish. They began to fly up, howling and screeching.

Damien and Hope looked at the turn of events in amazement.

" _We think your friends might have been successful._ " The angel smiled. " _We can't sense Jubileus anymore."_

"We won?" He turned to her, hope filling his eyes. The sound of a zip-line distracted both of them, and Luka suddenly flew into view.

"Holy shit, Damien, did you see all that – woah, why the fuck is one of those here!?" He stared at the Joy, confused.

"See what?" Damien asked in return. "And it is a friend."

"OK…" Luka shook his head. "But anyway, Jubileus just got punched into Inferno, and now the statue is falling back to Earth."

"Punched into Inferno?" He glanced at Hope with a questioning look. "It isn't dead?"

" _Cereza and Jeanne were wise to seal it away. The prophecy has yet to be completed, after all._ " Hope nodded at him.

"We won." He smiled to himself. "We won!"

…

Jeanne looked down at the statue as it slowly began to fall back to Earth.

"Cereza, we aren't done yet." She looked over to Bayonetta. "We managed to stop this abomination, but it's still going to destroy the world!"

Pulling her to her feet, she stepped forward. "Come now, you can't die here. I'm getting you home alive, even if it kills me."

"Jeanne, we are going home together." Bayonetta stood beside her. "We will do this together, because the division of the Umbra is what lead to their downfall, and it won't lead to ours!"

Summoning a wicked stomp, she slammed it into the head of the statue. Both were horrified to see it didn't cause a scratch.

"What?" The both exclaimed, and then Jeanne's face fell.

"Oh no…" She whispered. Bayonetta whirled around to face her and grabbed her shoulders.

"What do you mean, oh no?" She shook her, breaking her out of her stupor.

"Balder enchanted the damn statue to be able to take on the sleeping spirit of Jubileus, which means this fucking thing is basically indestructible. We can't break it." She answered grimly, and she embraced her friend, not noticing the flight of angels flying up to meet them. "We are going to die. We are all going to die. We failed…"

…

 _Jeanne! Where are you?_ Damien reached out mentally to her.

 _I'm on the statue with Cereza, and it is going to crash into the world and fucking kill everyone on it._ She answered, her voice sounding dead. _It was honestly nice knowing you, and I am so sorry for everything-_

 _Jeanne, get off the statue._ He was looking up, and spotted the object easily. _Madama, what is that spell you wanted to teach me?_

 _Ooh, now this is interesting._ His patron answered, humour lacing her tone. _One meteor spell of doom, coming right up!_

 _Damien, what are you planning?_ Jeanne asked, confused.

 _I'm going to destroy the statue._ He answered, listening to Khepri in that back of his mind. _So get clear of it!_

He began to weave together the spell, feeding all of his magic into it. Luka and Hope both stepped back as he glowed with the intensity of the powers in play.

"Uhh, what is he doing?" Luka asked the Joy beside him.

Its eyes widened as he began to incantate the spell properly. _"A forbidden power, locked away by the Auditio for its potential… Although if anyone could control it, he probably could."_

Luka gave it a questioning look as he heard nothing but gibberish. Shrugging, he returned his attention to Damien as he gestured at the statue in the sky, and then screamed one word.

"TELOAH!"

He collapsed, and nearly fell on his face. Both Luka and Hope had stopped him and pulled him up into a sitting position.

"Easy there." Luka looked at him with questioning eyes. "What did you just do?"

"Just…" He struggled to speak. "Watch… the fireworks."

Luka looked up, the statue clearly in sight even for him. Hope followed his gaze, and they frowned at the lack of activity. They noticed the angelic host had risen to almost be level with it, and the Auditio had begun attacking something.

"Are you sure something is going to happen?" Luka asked, not bothering to turn around. "I'm not-"

A meteor the size of an asteroid slammed into the statue at a tremendous speed, obliterating it instantly and the angels surrounding it. Luka jumped up, wide-eyed, and the Joy smiled softly.

"Holy shit! You did that?" He turned back, the explosion filling the sky. "Why the fuck didn't you do that here?"

"Did… you all want… to die… or something?" He tiredly smiled. "That would have… killed everyone on this island… maybe even the world…"

"Well, it's a good thing you didn't." Luka smiled. "We won? It's now all over?"

"Yes." Damien looked at him, his golden eyes twinkling. "We won..."

"Now what?" He turned and looked at the Joy next to him. "What will you do?"

" _I will return to Paradiso and oversee the reforming of the Laguna._ " Hope stood up, looking to the sky. " _It was nice meeting you all, and, thank you for naming me._ "

"The pleasure… was ours." Damien gave her a smile, and the Joy smiled back. Giving the pair a little wave, she opened a portal to Paradiso and stepped through.

"That's that sorted. Now, where is Bayonetta and the other witch?" Luka turned back to the fading explosion.

"Jeanne." He supplied, and closed his eyes. _Alright Jeanne, you can come down now. We have won._

Silence.

His eyes opened, panic beginning to set in. _Jeanne?_

 _JEANNE?!_

"Damien, where are they?" Luka had noticed his panicking and now was in front of him, dread filling his eyes. "Tell me!"

"No…" He shut his eyes tight and wished for them to appear next to them. "No!"

"They didn't get clear in time?" Luka was crying, but had realised Damien wouldn't sacrifice their friends so easily.

"They're dead…" Tears spilled from his eyes. "I killed my sister. I killed my friend…"

He vanished in a flash of light, not before Luka heard a scream of pure agony rip through the air, and then all became silent.

Letting himself collapse to his knees, he screamed in anguish as the tears fell as a stream.


	20. Epilogue

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I own nothing from Bayonetta_

" _Welcome to the six o'clock Vigrid news. Stunning reports of a full scale alien invasion occurring at the capital have been captured by multiple sources. Aid has been sent from neighbouring countries, but it seems Isla Del Sol will be a ruin before this is all over. The populace has been evacuated, and the local security has been dispatched, but they are outnumbered and out of practice. It is said a guardian angel from the heavens is aiding them, but it is just one person, and a whole army for them to contend with. We pray that more aid will reach them in time, and that this invasion can be solved peacefully."_

…

" _Breaking news! The alien invasion, known as Lagunan's, has been successfully repelled. Reports have come in that the former CEO of the Ithavoll group, Father Balder, was actually a Lumen Sage of the legends and had tried to kickstart the resurrection of the Creator, Jubelius, and destroy the universe to remake it in his own image. According to Luka Redgrave, an associate of them, two siblings by the names of Bayonetta and Sephiroth and their friend Jeanne, two of whom are Umbra Witches, took the fight to him and successfully foiled his plan, destroying the statue that housed the spirit of the God and killing him and his Lagunan army. Unfortunately, it is theorised that Jeanne and Bayonetta perished in this battle. Sephiroth has not been seen since, and we can only wonder where this superpowered human has gone, for together we would all like to thank him, and mourn with him."_

…

"Well, no rest for the wicked." Enzo looked at the two other people with him, the only two attending the late Bayonetta and her friend Jeanne's funeral; Rodin, and a Nun to oversee the proceedings. "But at least she is at peace now, back in the box she came from."

He continued, paying the pair no heed to their small glares they sent his way. "And I guess I'm going to have to find a new racket to line my pockets. No bonus for old Enzo this time; as fucking usual."

"You know how it works with witches, Enzo." Rodin placed his hands on his hips and regarded the man from behind his sunglasses. "They make a deal with the devil and when they die, the devil gets his due."

"Why are you telling me this?" Enzo walked over to him, confused. "Is that not why we are here, praying for her soul to rest in peace?! I better not be out here, catching a fucking cold, if these prayers don't mean nothing. Aside from being the undertaker for these pair of funerals here, I don't even know why you fucking dragged me out here anyway!"

A figure materialised behind them, making the mortal jump and squeak with fear.

"What is the meaning of this?" Damien demanded as he walked forward to stand beside the weaponsmith. Rodin glanced at him, and inwardly cursed.

"Ohh shit…"

The Nun stiffened but continued to murmur the prayers for the deceased.

"It's a funeral for Bayonetta and the other witch… the uglier one." Enzo replied, and was immediately yanked from his feet to face the silver haired man's fiery gaze.

"Jeanne is not the uglier one!" He hissed, eyes glowing slightly in anger. He turned to the unconcerned Rodin. "Why was I not told of this funeral? You'd bloody think her brother would want to say his last goodbyes!"

Rodin's eyebrows raised in surprise, and he glanced at the nun for the briefest of seconds. "This was a recent development, you might not have got the word in time. And since when were you her brother?"

"Since her father decided he needed a son and made me into one." He replied angrily, dropping the frightened mortal. "Some funeral service this is."

All three men then were surprised to see two moving rosemary bushes approaching from the east side of the cemetery. Placing them down beside the coffins, Luka's tear washed face appeared with a small smile.

"I said I'd never give up chasing you…" He looked down and placed a hand on Bayonetta's coffin, where he imagined hers would be. "I just never thought the chase would end like this."

"Rosemary?" Rodin sniffed the air and raised an eyebrow at the mortal.

"I did some research, and classically it was used as a demon repellent. It might help you on the road ahead." He removed his hand from the coffin and stepped back, looking to the nun to continue the service.

A golden light washed over the small gathering, stunning Luka and Damien. Rodin grunted and folded his arms, and the nun smiled.

"Hey… Hey!" Enzo crawled behind the weapon smith. "Wait a second! What the hell are they coming down here to get them for?"

"They are the instruments of God, and are a testament to their will." The voice of the nun caused Damien to snap to face her, his eyes wide. Luka turned to her with a shocked expression, his eyes narrowing. "Of course they would come for the prize they been seeking all along."

"Holy shit, you're…" Luka pointed at her, and then the casket.

Damien took a tentative step forward, hope filling his eyes. "Jeanne?"

The nun closed the book and dropped it, leaping into the sky and through a portal to Purgatorio. Damien followed quickly, only to see her falling to Earth, slamming a group of Affinities to the ground.

She looked at the white outfit she was wearing in repulsion, and then winked at him. "This outfit looks ridiculous on me, doesn't it?"

He looked at her with a stunned silence, mouth open slightly in shock.

"I swear, this is the last time I will unwillingly cosplay for you." She said to the coffin, tearing the white dress off to reveal a clean and repaired version of her red D'Arc clothing. Turning back to the stunned man, Jeanne rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, it's not like you've seen a ghost!"

He was interrupted from his reply when a flock of Affinities flew at him, screeching. Pulling out Angel Slayer, he jumped to stand back to back with her.

"I thought I had killed you." His voice was low, and the emotions contained within were nearly bursting out.

"You honestly thought a giant rock would kill us both?" She laughed, but moved to slightly brush his hand with her own. "Damien, please give us more credit than that."

The Affinities had enough, and swooped in. They both jumped up to meet them, katana flashing and guns blazing.

"You hear that?" Rodin turned to the two coffins, yelling at the one with Bayonetta inside. "That's your cue!"

Luka turned to the coffin, staring at it, a swelling hope growing in his heart.

"Will you hurry up?" Jeanne kicked an Affinity out of the way and walked up to it. "Don't tell me you actually fell asleep in that thing!" She slammed her fist onto it, startling Enzo.

"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me..." The mortal began to back away. "You're telling me she's not dead?!"

The lid burst off, Bayonetta jumping out and onto the second coffin with ease, and came crashing down breaking over Rodin's head.

"Un-fucking-believable!" Enzo screamed.

"Morning!" Bayonetta exclaimed, then froze slightly at the sight of the two mortals. "Remind me never to act as the bait again, please?"

"You survived?" Luka exclaimed, his face breaking into a smile. "You survived!"

The witch in black winked at him. "Of course I survived, Cheshire. We both have unfinished business that me dying would simply be too inconvenient for it to delay any longer."

Damien merely stared at her, eyes watering. "Cereza…"

She stepped into Purgatorio and gave him a soft smile. "I swear we were going to reunite under better circumstances, and not like this. Now, we have some work to do before we can relax and… how do they put it? Hang out?"

"You're alive." He smiled finally.

…

 _1 week later…_

…

Four people sat at the Gates of Hell in silence, each one's mind ticking with unanswered questions and with information that no one wanted to approach. Damien's past life and relationship with the other four. Jeanne's ability to coexist with Damien somehow. Luka and Bayonetta's relationship. Bayonetta's memories, and the true power of the Left Eye.

But they all knew one thing, and that was that they had all been successful. Balder had been defeated, Jeanne was saved and the Angelic plot to resurrect Jubelius had been successfully halted and punched into Inferno, where it could never arise inadvertently again.

Damien was the first to break the silence. He raised his glass as a tribute. "To the victorious."

The others followed suit. "To the victorious."

Each took a deep drink from their respective glass, everyone's thoughts on something different.

Damien was thinking about his future, and where he stood. There was nothing for him in the past, and there was nothing for him from the future either. Literally.

Bayonetta thought of her memories, her newfound family member, her best friend, and of a certain long-haired brunette sitting near her.

Luka was thinking of his future, his haunted but avenged past, and of the raven witch sitting near him.

Jeanne thought about her best friend, Damien's future and past, and her guilt from her actions.

Rodin smirked as he watched the four. "Well I'm glad you all won something. Even though you killed the literal creator of the universe and all that, you all still didn't end up with enough halos to return me to my true form."

Bayonetta's head snapped up. "You what?"

He chuckled. "Back then, I used to be a Dea like Jubileus. After a few millennia, I grew fed up with Paradiso's ideals, revolted and got cast out." Pulling out a halo, he flicked it up like a coin. "Though, I would miss the life of this, serving people, helping them out and even playing scientist. Sometimes you just gotta play humble sometimes."

Everyone laughed, and the tension was broken.

"I suppose I should give this back now." Damien pulled out Angel Slayer and passed it to Jeanne. She accepted the blade but frowned at the action.

"Are you sure you don't want to keep it?" She asked. "You are still weapon-less."

"It's not mine." He shook his head. "It would feel wrong to use it for longer than I need to."

"Well, Damien, it seems that it is your lucky day today." Rodin picked up a long, black case and placed it onto the counter. Four pairs of eyes looked at the case with curiosity, and the weapon smith opened it to reveal the Shuraba, all in one piece.

"What!?" Damien stood up and looked at it with surprise. "How?"

"I recovered the pieces of the sword and gave them back to him, remember?" Jeanne answered. "I asked for a favour."

"It ain't easy to break my babies, so whoever broke it must have been a mighty foe." Rodin smiled. "However, I ain't fixing it again. And you now have a tab you gotta fill."

"A tab is the least of my worries." He pulled out the blade and smiled as the familiarity of the weapon washed over him. "Thank you."

…

Bayonetta found herself pulled aside by Luka. Curious, she followed him to an empty table.

"Look, I know I treated you like crap at the beginning of all this, and I am honestly sorry for that." He began. "I let my memories and perception blind me from the completely obvious truth."

"Cheshire, you had every reason to think that way. A person wakes up from a tomb after being in it for five hundred years, and you father dies basically at the same time?" She shook her head. "I worried for the last twenty years about whether it was my fault at all."

"You did?" Luka sounded surprised. "So, all that bravado was for show?"

Bayonetta blushed slightly. "No. I was trying to do something, that now that I'm thinking of it, was probably pretty…" She trailed off as the guilt rose within her.

He sat there, giving her an encouraging smile. "C'mon, you can do this!"

"…stupid of me to do so." She gritted her teeth together and forced it down as she finished her sentence. It wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it was going to be. That was easy.

Luka leaned slightly forward, like he was anticipating her answer. "Why then?"

"I had this silly idea that I could seduce you and get you to leave me alone." She said after a long silence. "I wanted to prove to you that you couldn't resist a witch's charm, regardless of how mentally prepared you thought you could've been."

Luka leaned some more. "And?"

"If you lean forward some more, you're going to meet the table face to face." She said, smiling coyly. Luka straightened up immediately, panic rushing to his face.

"Don't do that! It would ruin this handsome mug." He held his face in mock horror.

"Why did you bring me over here?" She asked, ignoring his question, and his pleas of mercy.

Now it was Luka's turn to blush. "You know how you said that you tried to seduce me?"

"Mhmm?"

"You kinda did…" He looked to the side, trying not to let her see his face. "I think it was probably around that time you stepped out of the bathroom."

"Ooh, I quite remember your reaction." Her eyes glazed over as she remembered his reaction, and then blanched as she remembered that Damien was there.

"I, uh, decided pretty much from there on out to be a bit more open with my views, as I explained to Damien hours after you fell into Paradiso." Luka turned back to her, his emotions finally in check. "I wasn't sure about whether I should be angry at you once I learned my Father's research into the labs of Ithavoll was correct."

"My brother?" She asked, and he nodded. "Ah, I'll thank him later."

"Yeah…" He grew red as he drew his eyes away from her grey ones. "I kinda don't really know what to think of you, to be honest, although I would say that I do think you are absolutely the girl of any guys dreams."

"Is that why you got all flustered when I promised you that date?" She smirked, and he nodded quickly.

"I don't know why you promised me one, to be honest with ya." He looked at the table, tracing a pattern with his left hand. "I'm a mortal; my lifespan will be nothing but a blink of your eye."

"Cheshire, I'm going to tell you the same thing that I told Jeanne about five hundred years ago." She reached forward and grabbed his hand. "I don't care. If I want to date a mortal, I'm going to fucking date a mortal."

She flicked a strand of hair from her face, and then grinned. "And besides, it not like she does fancy an immortal."

"What do you…" His face quickly turned to confusion. "How the hell does she fancy a mortal?"

"Well, the mortal in question; I'm honestly not sure whether he is mortal." She turned away, thinking. "So, she might still be right."

"I thought she was lesbian, considering everything that happened." Luka said, turning to look at the witch in question.

"No, but a good assumption. She's bi, and probably pan-sexual as well." Bayonetta also turned to look at her. "But anyway, that date..."

"Are you sure you are serious, Bayonetta?" Luka returned his gaze to her. "How could a witch, and the most powerful woman on this Earth, want a man like me?"

"Because you see beyond these tits and ass." She smiled, poking his nose with a finger. "And besides, you are quite my type."

"But-" He was interrupted by her finger being placed onto his lips.

"Luka, for once in your goddamn life, just accept that this is how things are." She laughed. "Look, at worst you get to have a date with me. At best…" She leaned over and began to whisper into his ear. Luka's face went red, and then redder and redder as she described precisely what they could be doing.

…

Jeanne held the box that would certainly end in her death in her hands. She feared his reaction, feared its contents, feared everything about it.

But he had every right to know. So, he was going to get it.

"Damien." Her voice didn't falter; that was a good start. He turned to her and smiled briefly, and then noticed what she held in her hands.

"What is that?" He asked, and Jeanne sensed that he had guessed what it was, or what it might contain.

"When you were invading Ithavoll tower, I raided the labs and found everything you didn't destroy about you and stored them here, and then destroyed them." She held out the box. "Here is it all. I figured you, of all people, would like to know what is here."

He took it gingerly and looked at it with reverence, and then tossed it into a portal. "I'll read them later. I don't want to ruin the mood yet."

The silence turned a little awkward.

"What will you do now?" Jeanne asked before she could stop herself.

"I don't know." He answered, sounding unsure. "I'll read the stuff in the box, then I'll see if I can find some relatives or someone that can help me out now. Temperentia was probably lying about every family member dying; there is no way that Balder managed to find them all."

Jeanne felt a giant invisible fist punch her in the stomach. He was certainly going to find out about his entire family in the file, and he would know that he had no one to go to. Then he would hunt her down, and chances are Bayonetta wouldn't understand why he had every right to do so.

She sighed as she thought of a dangerous and potentially horrible plan that might not end up with her dead. This one was at least better than leaving the whole thing up to chance.

"I need to show you something." She said. "Before you read anything or do anything else."

He looked at her in confusion and suspicion. "Where?"

"Australia."

…

The four stood at the entrance back to the mortal realm, each looking at each other, waiting for someone to speak up.

"So, now what do we do?" Luka scratched the back of his neck. "Obviously there is no world ending event that is about to occur, so we all probably don't need to be together again."

"I was planning on visiting Australia with Jeanne." Damien glanced at the witch in red to his left. "There's something there I have to see."

"There is." Jeanne nodded at him, and then turned to her fellow witch. "What about you, Cereza?"

The witch in black was silent. "I'm not sure… I don't think it would be fair on the nuns I work with if I returned there with the whole world knowing who we are and what we can do."

"You're a nun?" Jeanne's eyes bugged out and she stifled a giggle. "What on Earth drove you to do that?"

"It's honest work." She shrugged, then turned to the man at her left. "What about you, Cheshire?"

"I was honestly thinking of heading back home to America, and continuing my journalist work there." He answered. "So this will probably be goodbye from me for now."

"Not necessarily…" Bayonetta held up a hand. "I could stay with you, considering I do not have a permanent residence anywhere."

"What?" All but Damien exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"

Jeanne and Luka then stared at each other in amazement.

"At least we know you're both against me." The witch in black rolled her eyes, supressing a smile.

"Actually, that's a really good idea." Damien smiled at her. "You get to live an ordinary life, out of the spotlight and no one would expect the person who literally saved the world to be living with the journalist who hunted her for twenty years."

Both Luka and Jeanne stared at him with suspicion.

"How come you are so cool on letting her live with me?" Luka asked. "I thought you would be all protective over her, considering you are family."

"I'm not like that!" He disagreed vehemently. "And besides, this way I'll know where you both are."

The trio then turned to Jeanne, who was still struggling to put her mind into words. "Cereza, I bought an apartment for the sole purpose of us to live in when this mess was finished with."

"Jeanne." She glanced at the men and gestured to them. They stepped back to give the pair privacy. "You bought that under the influence of Balder, remember? If anything, me living with you would be just painful for you."

"I just don't want to be lonely anymore." She dropped her head, whispering. "I went celibate after I sealed you away, and I have not met another person romantically for at least five hundred years, and it's been killing me. Not until…" Her voice trembled as it trailed away.

"Look, the only advice I can give you is for you to open your heart to someone else, and for them to help you heal your body and mind." Bayonetta lifted her friends chin. "Or see a psychiatrist and get therapy, but you're going to be stubborner than him about it."

"Him?" Jeanne's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"My brother, of course." She answered. "He has far too many problems and issues that I'm sure only therapy can solve."

The witch in grey eye's widened as an idea came to her. "I think I know what I can do now."

Bayonetta smiled as she realised what she could be planning. "That is a good idea, if I say so myself." Smirking, she leaned close to her ear. "Just don't spend too much time fucking his brains out. I'd like to not become an Aunt yet."

"CEREZA!" Jeanne blushed and looked at her in horror. The witch in black began to laugh, and the two men stared at the pair in confusion.

"Should we know what happened?" Luka asked the winged man next to him.

"I doubt it." He answered, a soft smile playing on his features. "Anyway, I think it is best that we are off soon."

"I agree, Darling." Bayonetta turned and grabbed Luka's hand and dragged him in front of her. "Lead the way, Cheshire!"

"I told you before, it is L.U.K.A, Luka!" He laughed as they both walked out of sight.

…

"This was my family…"

Damien knelt in front of several rows of tombstones, each bearing the same name. Jeanne stood behind him, tense and ready to defend herself at any moment.

"How did this happen...?" He asked, looking at the ground. Jeanne didn't answer, wrapped up in her own thoughts in how she was going to answer this.

"How?" He turned to her, eyes beginning to turn moist. "They all died on the same day. Something must have happened!"

"After you broke out, Temperentia paid Balder a visit, to which the Sage ordered a mass genocide of your family." Jeanne answered, her voice showing the minimum of the conflict inside of her. "I was instructed to help him, and you know that I was nothing else but the efficient weapon in his fist."

It was out. Damien now knew that the person whom he had worked so hard to save, the person whom he had said he admired, was the murderer of everyone who would've known him. Now he knew he could never relearn his past and could never become the person he once was.

He didn't say anything. He turned away and faced the tombstones again. Jeanne's mind and instincts were telling her to flee, but she stayed put. If he was going to attack her and try to kill her, then he was welcome to.

The silence, however, was really starting to become unnerving.

"Did they suffer?" His voice trembled to her, breaking the tension.

Jeanne hesitated. "Some did. When he isn't calm, Temperentia enjoys playing with mortals. He was far too sadistic for an Audito."

"I see…" He became silent again and returned his attention back to the tombstones.

"Are you alright?" Jeanne asked tentatively.

"I feel loss." He swallowed. "Pain. Anger. Yet none of it feels real."

Jeanne frowned as she knelt beside him. "What do you mean?"

"This is going to sound really horrid of me, but I have no connection to these people." He gestured to the rows. "I don't know who they are, and I don't know who they are to me. I don't feel loss or pain for them. And I feel sick to my stomach that I can't."

"This is all my fault…" Jeanne whispered to herself, closing her eyes. "I did this all to you."

"Don't blame yourself." Damien looked at her, his haunted eyes looking at her softly. "You shouldn't be, Balder already had his hands in your mind well before I was captured. You were just his puppet."

"I know, but the memories will always, always…" She swallowed as she opened her eyes, trying to keep her emotions stable. "They will always be with me, until I die."

"They can serve as reminders of the past and vault you to new strengths." Damien tried to reassure her, but to no avail.

Jeanne had recognised the wisdom in his words but shook her head. "They were my actions, and I enjoyed them! How can you not look at me in disgust and hatred?"

"Because that was not you. That was Balder, and he decided the best thing that was for everyone was to ruin their lives." Damien put a hand on her shoulder. "The Jeanne I now know, the Jeanne my sister knows, wouldn't think of killing mortals for pleasure."

"It's because I have nothing." He continued. "Everything I once had was gone, ripped from me by you from his order, and then changed through his command. He did everything, you were merely the unwilling hand. I can't judge actions when I have nothing to judge. Hell, I don't know if the old me was a genocidal freak."

"Balder really took everything from me." He laughed ironically. "My past, my memories, even me."

And with that, the floodgates opened. Twenty years of torture, a year of being emotionally and physically exhausted, the revelation of his family's death, and the fact his friend was emotionally tortured from events she couldn't control; it all broke loose. For everyone, he cried. Tears fell, his shoulder's rose and fell with sobs. Covering his face, he cried for the first time in years.

Two slim arms wrapped around him as Jeanne pulled him to her. Abandoning all self-control, he followed suit and embraced her in return, crying into her shoulder. Her eyes also unleashed her own tears, as she wept for him and for herself.

No words were spoken. None were needed.

The pair separated after a long moment. Looking into each other's eyes, they saw the hurt and pain that each possessed.

"What will you do now?" Jeanne asked softly.

"I honestly don't know anymore." Damien looked away. "I shouldn't live with my sister, it wouldn't be fair on her or Luka. I honestly think I will probably end up at the Gates and help Rodin out. It's the best way I can repay his apparent kindness, and I'll need to pay him back for Shuraba anyway."

"You'll fade away into obscurity?" Jeanne sounded shocked.

"It's for the best." He morosely answered. "I'm a stranger to myself and to the world. It's best if I just do something that I know I'm good at, instead of trying to fit this strange thing in into a normal life." He gestured to his wing. "Balder might have failed his plan to resurrect Jubileus, but he did make me an abomination."

A loud smack rang through the graveyard as Jeanne slapped him. Holding one hand to his stinging cheek, he couldn't help but look away from the sheer fury in her eyes.

"Damien!" She yelled. "You are the most strong-willed man I know, and one of the most powerful I have ever seen! Any person on this world would be glad to make your acquaintance and would be cherished to have your friendship. Rodin wouldn't use you to your full potential, and you would fade away when you could be so much more!"

"What do you propose I do?" He yelled back.

"You could live with me!" She fired right back at him, not thinking clearly. Her brain then caught up to her mouth, and she didn't hate the idea as much as she thought. In fact, wasn't she already planning on asking him anyway?

"Me? Live with you?" Damien sounded shocked and surprised.

"Yes! When Balder wasn't using me for his various…needs, I used to be a teacher. I still have an apartment in Britain somewhere that can accommodate four people, and I was originally going to use it for when Cereza came back to me. But since she is probably going to live with the mortal now, I'm going to probably go crazy with the loneliness! And you could make a living there without too much trouble. You could live a normal life again, and not become a crony for Rodin." She explained, liking the idea more and more.

He didn't seem too sold on the idea yet. "I don't want to be a problem to you, especially if I can help it."

"Trust me, you'd be nothing close to a problem." Jeanne smiled and grabbed his hand. "Please Damien. This is a way that I can repay you for saving me from Balder, and it will help our minds heal from the better part of the last two decades."

He looked into her eyes, and finally broke into a small, pained smile. "I accept."

…

 _One day later…_

…

Luka reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys.

"Now, I'm going to pre-emptively apologise for the mess." He turned to the casually dressed witch behind him, stopping for a second to appreciate the view. She was wearing a button-up white shirt and blue jeans, and a pair of blue sneakers to complete her look. Her hair was loose, and cascaded down her back, giving her the look of wearing a cloak. "And potentially apologise for anything that might happen when you walk in."

"Why would something happen when I walk in in particular?" She answered, noticing his lingering look and giving him a smirk. "Don't tell me you have a puppy, Cheshire."

"You'll see." He fiddled with the lock, and then opened the door. Holding it open, he gestured to her. "Ladies first."

She rolled her eyes, smiling, but walked in. Luka's apartment was messy. She stood in the kitchen and could spot no less than thirty unwashed dishes strewn around. And that wasn't taking into account the piles of paper, the unwashed clothes and the layers of dust everywhere.

"I, uh…" Luka walked in behind, scratching his head. "I'm really sorry for the mess."

"Luka." She turned around, smiling softly. "It's perfect."

"Wha-how?" He asked. "It's barely fit to live in, let alone close to mediocre!"

"I spent the better part of the first twenty years of my life being micromanaged and controlled into a clean, neat lady." She turned back and gestured to the apartment. "I have never had the chance to just fuck off and live my life the way I wanted to."

"Did you not do that for the last twenty years?" He frowned.

"I didn't know who I was for the last twenty years." She clicked her fingers and two duffel bags popped out of inferno, followed by a wardrobe. "Right now, all I want to do is settle down and live a normal life. Well, as normal as a witch's life can be."

"I still don't know why you've decided you want to live with me." Luka awkwardly began to pick up items, throwing them into a pile near the corner. "We haven't even had that date yet!"

"So?" Bayonetta turned her attention to moving the wardrobe somewhere. "I don't exactly have a permanent residence and living with Jeanne and Damien would be an absolute nightmare! The pent-up sexual tension between the two would become unbearable!"

"You really think that they have it for each other?" He asked. "Didn't they spend the better part of twenty years with her torturing him?"

"That wasn't her, remember." She walked into the spare bedroom and surveyed it, spotting three peculiar creatures. "They have only really known each other for the better part of a week. I give them a month before they start fucking like rabbits."

"You sound too confident about that." He answered, standing beside her as he looked into the room with her. "I really need to clean up."

"You never told me you were a cat person." She crouched down as the three felines walked over with curiosity. "What are their names?"

"Claire, Trish and Silvia." Luka answered as the cats pressed themselves against her. Crouching beside her, he watched as the cats began to purr. "They like you."

"It certainly helps that cats love a lady." She grabbed the black cat and picked her up, petting it as she stood back up to face him. A small puppy then ran into sight and jumped into Luka's awaiting arms. Petting the dog, he gave it a well-deserved scratch down and then released it as he too stood back up.

"You didn't quite answer my question." He smiled. "Why live with me?"

"Because Cheshire," She pulled him close, dropping the cat gracefully as she did. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I-" He was silenced by her lips pressing against his. His eyes widened, then closed as he revelled in the sensation.

"Don't think, Luka." She whispered as she pulled back slightly. "Just go with the flow."

"Bayonetta…" His voice was strained, as if he was battling with himself. "Why?"

"If you must know, its because I think you are a fairly attractive fellow with a good head on his shoulders." Bayonetta replied, her tone slightly exasperated. "Now shut up and let me do the things to you that I'm sure you have been dreaming of ever since the time we visited the Vigrid Hotel."

Luka gulped, but then smiled. "Lead on, Cerezita."

The End

 _Thank you all for reading! I hope that this wasn't too bad of a fic, considering it is my first completed one, and that you all had just as much fun reading as I did writing it._

 _Now, I'll probably end up doing a bunch of short stories to set up the Bayonetta 2 retelling, but I'll lump those into one fic so I don't spam the site. I'm also going to give myself a break, and start writing down skeletons for the future stories and/or edit this story so it becomes better._

 _See you all in about a month or two!_


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